Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $61.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Equitable in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.58.

Equitable Stock Performance

EQH traded down $2.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.44. 2,608,777 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,810,458. Equitable has a 52 week low of $32.96 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The stock has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.83 and a 200 day moving average of $46.15. 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 (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is 25.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,023.24. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $587,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 908,653 shares of the company's stock worth $38,191,000 after acquiring an additional 153,457 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $295,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,117,568 shares of the company's stock worth $89,001,000 after acquiring an additional 148,180 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 752,091 shares of the company's stock worth $35,476,000 after acquiring an additional 78,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.