Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $53.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Equitable traded as high as $51.56 and last traded at $51.56, with a volume of 171 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.11.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on EQH. Barclays raised their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Equitable from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.00.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total value of $316,834.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 105,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,002,342.38. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $1,332,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 658,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,239,842. The trade was a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 130,032 shares of company stock valued at $6,031,759. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Equitable by 61.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 623.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.00 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.53. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is -88.07%.

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.