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

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

EQH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.09.

Equitable Stock Down 1.6%

Equitable stock traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 419,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,560,035. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $36.46 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.74.

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

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.35%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $352,698.06. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 94,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,025,391.80. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,615.43. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 117,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,993,760. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 27.5% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 105,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,891,000 after acquiring an additional 22,620 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 20.7% during the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 153,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,606,000 after acquiring an additional 26,300 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 2.8% during the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 89,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,426 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 2.2% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 721,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,495,000 after acquiring an additional 15,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the second quarter valued at about $3,455,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.