Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) was upgraded by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $58.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $47.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.48% from the company’s current price.

EQH has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.64.

Equitable Stock Performance

Equitable stock opened at $48.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $15.08 billion, a PE ratio of -44.16 and a beta of 1.38. Equitable has a 12-month low of $31.76 and a 12-month high of $50.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.85.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.53. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Equitable will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $1,332,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 658,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,239,842. The trade was a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 130,032 shares of company stock valued at $6,031,759 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Equitable by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Equitable by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 623.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.