Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target to $66.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.94% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.17.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $55.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. Equitable has a 1-year low of $32.96 and a 1-year high of $56.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.87.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 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%. Research analysts predict that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $825,162.36. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $315,368.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 98,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,677,776.25. The trade was a 6.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Equitable by 195.6% in the 4th 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 increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 61.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Company Profile

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.