Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $46.48 and last traded at $46.17, with a volume of 262974 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.70.

Equitable Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.97. The company has a market cap of $15.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 1.41.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. Equitable had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 87.49%. The company had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share 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 Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $1,332,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 3,500 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total value of $148,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,321 shares in the company, valued at $819,596.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $1,332,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 658,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,239,842. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,500 shares of company stock worth $3,969,870 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Equitable in the first quarter worth $28,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the third quarter worth $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 86.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Equitable by 141.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.