Truist Financial Raises Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target to $44.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target increased by Truist Financial from $40.00 to $44.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Equitable from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and upped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $40.10.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $38.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,657,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,581,093. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $36.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.00. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $21.89 and a fifty-two week high of $39.11.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $170,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,012,367.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $170,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,012,367.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total value of $5,803,122.38. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,374,399.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 334,380 shares of company stock worth $12,198,971. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Equitable by 143.1% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 126.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1,421.4% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.