Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $58.00 to $67.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 25.25% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on EQH. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Equitable from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.83.

Equitable Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $53.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 139,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,414. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.17 and a 200-day moving average of $50.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 1.15. Equitable has a 12-month low of $36.46 and a 12-month high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 105.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $1,534,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 753,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,534,018.96. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 124,998 shares of company stock worth $6,345,563. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Equitable by 1,284.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 122,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,372,000 after purchasing an additional 113,495 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 6.6% in the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 6,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 73.9% during the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 10,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 4,510 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the first quarter valued at $7,403,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Equitable in the first quarter valued at $456,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.