Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $41.00 to $43.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Equitable traded as high as $39.63 and last traded at $39.51, with a volume of 100878 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.16.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Equitable from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total transaction of $5,803,122.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,374,399.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total value of $5,803,122.38. Following the sale, the insider now owns 88,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,374,399.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $680,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 144,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,903,370.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 334,380 shares of company stock valued at $12,198,971. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Equitable by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,815,000 after purchasing an additional 446,752 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Equitable by 10.0% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 26,902,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450,484 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $606,630,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 1,161.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,849,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,692,000 after purchasing an additional 7,227,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,232,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,553,000 after purchasing an additional 18,475 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.24%.

Equitable Company Profile

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.