JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.64.

Equitable Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE:EQH traded down $1.58 on Tuesday, hitting $53.20. 3,420,785 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,564,948. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.69. Equitable has a 52 week low of $36.46 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.14). Equitable had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 79.05%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. Equitable's revenue was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. This is an increase from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $264,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 139,073 shares in the company, valued at $7,358,352.43. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.18, for a total value of $1,595,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 724,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,521,837.06. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 117,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,993,760 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Equitable during the first quarter worth $252,000. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 51.5% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 42,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 14,380 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 154,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,047,000 after acquiring an additional 20,317 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at $29,939,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at $7,512,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.