Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.4545.

EQH has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th.

Equitable Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $49.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.27 and a 200 day moving average of $51.99. The firm has a market cap of $14.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable has a 1 year low of $41.39 and a 1 year high of $56.61.

Insider Activity

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.99, for a total transaction of $332,642.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 75,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,051.02. This trade represents a 8.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total transaction of $134,836.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,348,411.86. This represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 178,958 shares of company stock valued at $9,362,262 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 310.2% during the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 13,120 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at about $252,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,985,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,168,000 after acquiring an additional 615,314 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 51.5% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 42,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 14,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at about $255,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.