Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock Price

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 37.48% from the company’s previous close.

EQH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Equitable from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equitable from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.82.

Equitable Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of EQH traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.64. 1,803,144 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,680,029. Equitable has a 12-month low of $35.19 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.07. The company has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 233.93% and a negative net margin of 7.26%.The business had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Equitable will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Equitable announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.63, for a total value of $1,652,711.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 789,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,853,688.29. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total transaction of $582,647.64. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 84,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,073.74. This represents a 14.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 128,116 shares of company stock valued at $5,205,010 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Equitable by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Equitable by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Equitable by 11.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in Equitable by 1.5% during the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 19,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Equitable by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.