Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Given New $61.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $61.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.08% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Equitable in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.58.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $53.95 on Wednesday. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $32.96 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.15. 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 stock has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. Equities analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $1,146,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,492,273.36. This represents a 15.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $1,419,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,939 shares in the company, valued at $30,275,514.09. This represents a 4.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in Equitable in the fourth quarter worth approximately $208,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Equitable by 87.9% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 84,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,969,000 after buying an additional 39,354 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Invst LLC now owns 24,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in Equitable by 154.4% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 26,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 16,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 154.3% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 841 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.