BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its target price lifted by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $69.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 36.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company 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 upped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.83.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of Equitable stock traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.79. 1,041,574 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,820,146. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $32.96 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The company has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $1,146,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,492,273.36. This represents a 15.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303,449 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Equitable by 700.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,563,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367,837 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 608.1% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,289,000 after buying an additional 1,261,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 237.0% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,758,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,799 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.