Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target Raised to $53.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $41.00 to $53.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on EQH. 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 report on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Equitable from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group downgraded Equitable from a buy rating to a neutral rating and increased their price target for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $43.45.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $43.08 on Tuesday. Equitable has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $43.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.11 and a 200-day moving average of $37.50. The company has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 1.43.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Equitable will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is 29.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total value of $394,971.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 121,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,814,662.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total transaction of $394,971.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 121,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,814,662.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total value of $5,803,122.38. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,374,399.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,411 shares of company stock valued at $6,627,658 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Equitable by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 228,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,477,000 after purchasing an additional 61,598 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 4th quarter worth $1,573,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 194,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,479,000 after acquiring an additional 38,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 4th quarter worth $894,000. 92.70% of the stock is 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.