Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also commented on EQH. Mizuho set a $65.00 price target on Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.27.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $40.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.00 and a 200 day moving average of $48.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. The company has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable has a 52 week low of $39.36 and a 52 week high of $56.61.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,166,059. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,429,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. The trade was a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 592.6% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 124.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Equitable during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

About Equitable

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.