Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Earns Overweight Rating from Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has restated an "overweight" rating for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) with a target price of $63.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.41% from its previous close.
• Equitable's stock has received multiple positive ratings from equity analysts including Wells Fargo raising its target to $65.00 and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods adjusting it to $64.00.
• Insider transactions revealed that COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares, reflecting a 7.66% decrease in his ownership, while corporate insiders collectively sold 192,468 shares worth over $10 million in the last three months.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating restated by research analysts at Barclays in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $63.00 target price on the stock. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.41% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on 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. lifted their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Equitable to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.36.

Equitable Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of EQH stock traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $51.05. The stock had a trading volume of 250,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,829,240. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.11. The company has a market cap of $15.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.15 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable has a one year low of $41.39 and a one year high of $56.61.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.69, for a total value of $364,555.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 81,888 shares in the company, valued at $4,396,566.72. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total value of $134,836.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,348,411.86. This represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,468 shares of company stock worth $10,250,470 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 28.2% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,736,000 after buying an additional 7,529 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 35.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 7,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,877 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 103.2% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 32,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,835,000 after acquiring an additional 16,612 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 191.6% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 28,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 19,004 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP lifted its holdings in Equitable by 1,000.8% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 96,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,411,000 after acquiring an additional 87,693 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

About Equitable

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.

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