Brokerages Set Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Target Price at $64.90

Key Points

• Equitable Holdings, Inc. has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from analysts, with nine out of ten firms recommending a buy and one holding the stock.
• The average 1-year target price for Equitable is $64.90, with significant adjustments from firms like JPMorgan and UBS, indicating varying levels of optimism.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 143,090 shares in the last ninety days, reflecting a decrease in their ownership stakes amid recent dividend announcements.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $64.90.

Several brokerages have issued reports on EQH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $52.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,829,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,681,153. The firm's fifty day moving average is $52.86 and its 200 day moving average is $52.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.50 and a beta of 1.16. Equitable has a twelve month low of $37.99 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total value of $134,836.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,348,411.86. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 19,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,052,615.43. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,090 shares of company stock valued at $7,549,152. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $703,060,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Equitable by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,878,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,662,000 after buying an additional 2,061,496 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 26.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,428,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $415,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551,551 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 4.8% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,789,138 shares of the company's stock worth $301,536,000 after buying an additional 265,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Equitable by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,498,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $308,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,521 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.