Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on EQH. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Mizuho set a $65.00 price objective on Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.27.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH stock opened at $40.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of -8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.84 and a 200-day moving average of $48.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Equitable has a one year low of $39.14 and a one year high of $56.61.

Equitable announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total transaction of $203,261.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $738,593.75. This trade represents a 21.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,166,059. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,193,000 after acquiring an additional 6,123 shares in the last quarter. Smith Asset Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Smith Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 82,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,907,000 after purchasing an additional 10,055 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 111,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,296,000 after purchasing an additional 5,166 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 120,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,749,000 after purchasing an additional 16,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,060,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.