Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock Price

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $63.00 to $64.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.30% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on EQH. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of 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 increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equitable has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.64.

Equitable Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE:EQH traded down $1.58 on Wednesday, reaching $53.20. The stock had a trading volume of 3,420,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,564,948. The company has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.15. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $53.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.69. Equitable has a 12-month low of $36.46 and a 12-month high of $56.61.

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). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 79.05%. Equitable's revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $352,698.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 94,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,025,391.80. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,358,352.43. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 117,332 shares of company stock worth $5,993,760 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Equitable by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Equitable by 0.3% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,613,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Equitable by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Equitable by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 4,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Equitable by 6.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

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.