Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Given New $55.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.30% from the stock’s current price.

EQH has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Equitable from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $49.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.75.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH opened at $52.23 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.65. Equitable has a one year low of $35.49 and a one year high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total transaction of $364,296.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 92,209 shares in the company, valued at $5,039,221.85. This represents a 6.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total transaction of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter valued at $668,250,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303,449 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 700.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,563,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367,837 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Equitable by 608.1% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261,466 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Equitable by 237.0% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,758,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,799 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.