Wolfe Research Downgrades Equitable (NYSE:EQH) to Peer Perform

Key Points

• Wolfe Research downgraded Equitable from “outperform” to “peer perform,” adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that still leaves the stock with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $59.00.
• Equitable shares were down 2.8% and opened at $45.67. The stock remains well below its 52-week high of $55.28 but above its 52-week low of $35.19.
• The company recently beat expectations in its latest quarter, posting $1.62 EPS versus $1.60 expected and revenue of $4.23 billion versus $3.95 billion expected. However, insiders have also been selling shares, including CEO Mark Pearson’s recent sale under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wolfe Research from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on EQH. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on 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 upped their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 price objective on Equitable and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equitable from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.00.

Equitable Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $45.67 on Thursday. Equitable has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $55.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.08, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 232.29% and a negative net margin of 7.26%.Equitable's quarterly revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 6,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.83, for a total transaction of $259,346.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,366 shares in the company, valued at $391,779.78. The trade was a 39.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total value of $1,797,616.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 765,903 shares in the company, valued at $34,680,087.84. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 154,248 shares of company stock worth $6,608,358. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Equitable by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 245.2% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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