Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target to $57.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $57.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.27.

Equitable Stock Down 4.1%

NYSE:EQH opened at $40.18 on Wednesday. Equitable has a 1 year low of $39.36 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.33. The stock has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.34, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.41%.

Equitable announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $323,543.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares in the company, valued at $2,621,845.95. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total transaction of $203,261.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 15,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $738,593.75. This trade represents a 21.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,280 shares of company stock worth $7,455,677. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Equitable by 592.6% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Equitable by 124.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Company Profile

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.