Barclays Begins Coverage on Equitable (NYSE:EQH)

Barclays began coverage on shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Equitable from a buy rating to a neutral rating and increased their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $46.64.

Equitable Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of EQH opened at $39.58 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. Equitable has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $44.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Equitable had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 87.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Equitable will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,552 shares in the company, valued at $4,806,775.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 678,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,635,021. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $429,564.21. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,806,775.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,938 shares of company stock worth $2,090,536. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the first quarter worth $28,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1,421.4% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 26.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Equitable by 261.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.