BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target upped by BMO Capital Markets from $69.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 33.01% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on EQH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.83.

Equitable Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $54.13 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.64. Equitable has a 52 week low of $32.96 and a 52 week high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $1,419,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,275,514.09. The trade was a 4.48 % 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, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $315,368.46. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 98,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,677,776.25. The trade was a 6.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Equitable by 61.5% in the third 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. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 111.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. raised its holdings in Equitable by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.