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

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target on Equitable from $51 to $60 and kept an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 37.5% upside from the current share price.
• Equitable beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $1.62 (vs. $1.60) and revenue of $4.23B (vs. $3.95B), but revenue was down 7.6% year‑over‑year and the company reported a negative net margin of 7.26%.
• The stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" from analysts with an average target of $57.82; shares traded at $43.64 (down 0.9%) and the board has authorized a $1.0 billion share buyback (~7.7% of outstanding stock).

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $51.00 to $60.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 37.48% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on EQH. Barclays raised their price objective on Equitable from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Equitable from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Two research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.82.

Equitable Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of EQH stock traded down $0.40 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.64. 1,803,144 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,680,029. Equitable has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $39.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 233.93% and a negative net margin of 7.26%.The company had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Equitable will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.63, for a total value of $1,652,711.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 789,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,853,688.29. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total transaction of $582,647.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 84,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,425,073.74. This trade represents a 14.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,116 shares of company stock valued at $5,205,010. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQH. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 124.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 92.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equitable

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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