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

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Equitable’s price target to $67 from $62 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying approximately 27.6% upside from the reported $52.52 share price. The broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $61.17.
• Equitable reported quarterly EPS of $1.70, ahead of the $1.65 estimate and up from $1.10 a year earlier. However, revenue fell 29.8% year over year to $1.66 billion, well below the $3.84 billion analyst forecast.
• Insiders sold 138,416 shares worth about $6.35 million during the quarter, while institutions own 92.7% of the stock. The company’s shares have recently traded near their 52-week high of $55.24.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $62.00 to $67.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would suggest a potential upside of 27.57% from the company's current price.

EQH has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Equitable from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Equitable from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.17.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock opened at $52.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09. Equitable has a 52 week low of $35.19 and a 52 week high of $55.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.22 and a 200-day moving average of $43.10.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 511.35% and a negative net margin of 8.72%.The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.54, for a total value of $1,927,038.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 753,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,570,181.62. The trade was a 5.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $386,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,770,759.78. This trade represents a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 138,416 shares of company stock valued at $6,351,729. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 311,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,965,000 after purchasing an additional 36,135 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 627,169 shares of the company's stock worth $23,274,000 after buying an additional 104,439 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at about $550,995,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,209,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 114.8% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,294,644 shares of the company's stock worth $204,640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,902 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Equitable News

Here are the key news stories impacting Equitable this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Buybacks and the Corebridge merger support the bullish case. An investment analysis maintained a “Strong Buy” view, citing approximately $1.8 billion in expected 2026 cash generation, at least $4.30 per share in capital returns and buybacks that could reduce the share count by about 8%. The Corebridge transaction is projected to generate roughly $550 million in cost synergies and approximately 10% EPS accretion by 2027. Equitable Holdings: Buybacks And Credit Resilience Make Shares Attractive
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat estimates and the dividend remains intact. EQH reported quarterly EPS of $1.70, above the $1.65 consensus and up from $1.10 a year earlier. The company also paid its $0.30 quarterly dividend, equal to $1.20 annually and an approximately 2.3% yield.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets imply further upside. The reported consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $60.75. Recent targets include $60 from Wells Fargo, $62 from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and $66 from Jefferies, although some analysts have adopted more cautious views.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional investor activity is mixed. Hedge funds and other institutions own approximately 92.7% of EQH. Several investors added shares during the second quarter, while other large holders reduced or exited positions.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders sold shares. Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 7,500 shares for approximately $386,550, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 1,466 shares for about $74,986, and Chief Accounting Officer William Eckert sold 947 shares for roughly $50,077. Reports indicate 34 insider sales and no insider purchases over the past six months, which may weigh on sentiment. Equitable Insider Trading Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue remains a concern. Quarterly revenue declined 29.8% year over year to $1.66 billion, substantially below the $3.84 billion analyst estimate, despite the earnings beat.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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