Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.75.

EQH has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $1,146,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,492,273.36. This represents a 15.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised 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 buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Equitable by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Equitable by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Down 3.7 %

Equitable stock opened at $49.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.46. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $34.95 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The company has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 expect that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

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.