Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Given New $65.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised Equitable’s price target from $64 to $65 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 21.66% upside from the stock’s $53.43 price. Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $63.18.
• Equitable’s shares rose 1.0% in Monday trading and are near their 52-week high. The company’s latest quarterly earnings of $1.70 per share exceeded estimates, although revenue fell 29.8% year over year.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 92.7%, with major investors including BlackRock and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board initiating sizable positions. Company insiders, however, sold 72,516 shares worth approximately $3.66 million over the past 90 days.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 21.66% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Equitable from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equitable from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Equitable from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.18.

Equitable Trading Up 1.0%

EQH traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $53.43. 271,470 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,521,310. Equitable has a 52 week low of $35.19 and a 52 week high of $55.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a current ratio of 0.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.10.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 511.35% and a negative net margin of 8.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 7.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.54, for a total transaction of $1,927,038.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 753,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,570,181.62. This trade represents a 5.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Charles Stonehill sold 7,500 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $386,550.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,770,759.78. The trade was a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,516 shares of company stock valued at $3,658,629. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Equitable in the second quarter worth about $1,136,305,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the second quarter valued at approximately $399,576,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 6.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,784,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $385,485,000 after buying an additional 523,638 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the second quarter valued at approximately $244,052,000. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 3.0% during the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,142,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,646,000 after acquiring an additional 148,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc is a financial services company that provides retirement, protection and investment management solutions to individuals, businesses and institutions. Its businesses operate primarily in the United States and serve clients through financial professionals, employer-sponsored retirement plans and institutional relationships.

Through its Equitable business, the company offers life insurance, annuities, individual retirement products and employee benefits. Its offerings are designed to help customers accumulate and protect assets, generate retirement income and address long-term financial planning needs.

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