Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price objective raised by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.71% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.17.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded up $0.55 on Friday, reaching $54.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 278,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,766,644. Equitable has a 52-week low of $32.96 and a 52-week high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.69. The company has a market cap of $17.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $1,419,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,939 shares in the company, valued at $30,275,514.09. The trade was a 4.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $79,356.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $825,162.36. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning raised its position in Equitable by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Equitable by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 37,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 3,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc increased its position in Equitable by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 84,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,557,000 after purchasing an additional 8,628 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.