UBS Group Cuts Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target to $58.00

Key Points

• UBS lowered Equitable's price target to $58 (from $66) while maintaining a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 50% upside from the stock's recent midday price of about $38.57.
• Multiple analysts have trimmed targets recently but the street consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $58.09 after revisions from firms including Wells Fargo, Barclays and Morgan Stanley.
• Equitable's Board authorized a $1.0 billion share repurchase (≈7.7% of shares) even as insiders sold about 76,490 shares last quarter and institutional investors now own roughly 92.7% of the stock.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at UBS Group from $66.00 to $58.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 50.39% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $57.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One research analyst has 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.09.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $38.57. 3,638,128 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,565,646. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable has a one year low of $35.19 and a one year high of $56.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.30.

Equitable announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $323,543.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,621,845.95. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,429,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 99,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. This represents a 23.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 76,490 shares of company stock valued at $3,587,184 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Equitable by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,258,124 shares of the company's stock worth $822,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,861 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Equitable by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,545,628 shares of the company's stock worth $645,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532,791 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth $550,995,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,889,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $232,996,000 after buying an additional 22,087 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,822,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,812,000 after buying an additional 193,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

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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