Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Equitable hit a new 52-week high after Truist raised its price target from $60 to $65 and maintained a Buy rating; shares reached $56.83.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $63.33.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $2.13 per share versus $1.86 expected and revenue of $3.88 billion versus $3.75 billion expected.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $65.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Equitable traded as high as $56.83 and last traded at $55.24, with a volume of 109,475 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $55.24.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on EQH. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equitable from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equitable from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.33.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, Director Charles Stonehill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $386,550.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,770,759.78. This represents a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 14,923 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.24, for a total value of $794,500.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,856,772.68. This represents a 11.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,816 shares of company stock worth $1,731,591. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 64.1% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Essential Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 245.2% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

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 cap of $15.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50-day moving average price is $52.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.98.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $3.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.75 billion. Equitable had a return on equity of 636.12% and a net margin of 11.53%. Equitable's revenue for the quarter was up 167.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc NYSE: EQH is a financial services company that provides retirement, protection and wealth management solutions to individuals, families and institutions. Its businesses offer life insurance, annuities, investment products, retirement planning and financial advice.

Through Equitable, the company provides life insurance and retirement products, while Equitable Advisors offers financial planning, investment advisory and insurance services through a network of financial professionals.

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