Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Upgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to “Buy” Rating

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has $58.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $47.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.64.

Equitable Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $48.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.08 billion, a PE ratio of -44.16 and a beta of 1.38. Equitable has a 1 year low of $31.76 and a 1 year high of $50.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Equitable will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors 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 1.99%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -88.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total transaction of $316,834.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 105,246 shares in the company, valued at $5,002,342.38. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $825,162.36. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 130,032 shares of company stock valued at $6,031,759. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the third quarter valued at $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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 Equitable by 623.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.