Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target price for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) from $64.00 to $65.00, indicating a potential upside of 30.69% from the current price.
• Multiple brokerages have recently given Equitable positive ratings, with Wolfe Research categorizing it as a "strong-buy" and several others assigning "overweight" ratings.
• Insider trading has shown significant selling activity, with the CFO and a director both reducing their holdings, indicating potential concerns among company executives.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $64.00 to $65.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price suggests a potential upside of 30.69% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on EQH. Wolfe Research raised Equitable to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.45.

Equitable Trading Down 1.1%

EQH traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $49.74. 1,010,469 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,834,878. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable has a 1-year low of $41.39 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $52.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of Equitable 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 transaction, the director directly owned 26,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,348,411.86. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robin M. Raju sold 36,888 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $1,991,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 140,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,573,932. This trade represents a 20.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,468 shares of company stock worth $10,250,470 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Equitable in the second quarter worth $703,060,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,878,516 shares of the company's stock worth $566,662,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061,496 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 26.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,428,619 shares of the company's stock worth $415,786,000 after buying an additional 1,551,551 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 4.8% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,789,138 shares of the company's stock worth $301,536,000 after buying an additional 265,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Equitable by 29.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,498,091 shares of the company's stock worth $308,443,000 after buying an additional 1,254,521 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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