Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Upgraded by Raymond James Financial to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Raymond James upgraded Equitable (NYSE:EQH) from "hold" to a "strong-buy" with a $58 price target, implying roughly a 38.1% upside.
• The company's board authorized a $1.0 billion share buyback (about 7.7% of outstanding shares), a move that typically signals management views the stock as undervalued.
• Insiders have been selling recently—CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares and COO Jeffrey Hurd sold 14,358—and insiders netted about 102,371 shares sold (~$4.34M) in the past three months, while the MarketBeat consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a $56.91 average target.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Raymond James Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $58.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial's price objective indicates a potential upside of 38.10% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on EQH. Zacks Research cut shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Equitable from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equitable from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.91.

Equitable Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE EQH opened at $42.00 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $40.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.79. Equitable has a 12 month low of $35.19 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.71, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.11.

Equitable announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at $30,166,059. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $574,894.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 89,403 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,696.12. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 102,371 shares of company stock worth $4,343,870 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 25,926 shares of the company's stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc NYSE: EQH is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.

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