Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its price target for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) from $63.00 to $65.00, suggesting a potential upside of 27.62% from the current price.
• Investment analysts have generally rated Equitable as a "Moderate Buy," with a consensus price target of $64.18, supported by various ratings including one "Strong Buy" and nine "Buy" ratings.
• Recent insider activity includes COO Jeffrey J. Hurd and CEO Mark Pearson selling shares of the company, with a notable 7.11% and 5.35% decrease in their respective stock holdings.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential upside of 27.62% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Equitable to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.18.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $50.93. The company had a trading volume of 140,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,828,567. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The company has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable has a 12-month low of $41.39 and a 12-month high of $56.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $367,271.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 88,678 shares in the company, valued at $4,796,593.02. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total transaction of $2,106,085.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 703,029 shares in the company, valued at $37,295,688.45. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 192,468 shares of company stock worth $10,250,470. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Equitable by 310.2% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,349 shares of the company's stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 13,120 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the first quarter valued at $252,000. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 51.5% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 42,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 14,380 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the first quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 15.1% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 154,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,047,000 after acquiring an additional 20,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

About Equitable

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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