BMO Capital Maintains Buy Rating on Equitable Holdings with $70 Price Target

Equitable Holdings (EQH) received a Buy rating from BMO Capital with a $70 price target. The company's shares opened at $55.03. The analyst consensus is a Strong Buy with an average price target of $65.60, a 19.21% upside from current levels. The company reported a quarterly revenue of $4.58 billion and a net profit of $63 million for Q1. Corporate insider sentiment is negative, with an increase in insiders selling shares.

Equitable Holdings Inc. (EQH) has seen a significant change in its stock price target by BMO Capital. The investment bank has lowered its target price for EQH to $70.00 from the previous $71.00, while maintaining an "Outperform" rating. This adjustment comes despite the stock's strong performance over the past year, with a 44.5% return and trading near its 52-week high of $56.61 [1].

The downward revision in the price target is primarily attributed to lower earnings expectations in the Individual Retirement segment, driven by reduced spread-based earnings as higher-margin RILA business rolls off. Despite this, the company maintains a "GOOD" financial health score with liquid assets exceeding short-term obligations [1].

BMO Capital introduced a 2027 EPS estimate of $9.52, representing approximately 19% year-over-year growth, comprised of about 10% earnings growth and 8% from a lower share count. This projection implies a compound annual growth rate of approximately 14% versus Equitable’s 2022 normalized baseline [1].

Equitable Holdings reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings, showing a mixed performance. The company achieved an adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $1.41, exceeding the forecast of $1.33. However, its revenue of $2.36 billion was significantly below the expected $3.23 billion, marking a 26.93% surprise shortfall [1].

In other recent news, Evercore ISI and Wells Fargo have also adjusted their price targets for EQH. Evercore ISI lowered its target to $63.00 from $64.00, while Wells Fargo set its target at $63.00 from $66.00. These adjustments were influenced by discussions with EQH executives regarding second-half expectations and future financial targets [1].

The company's stock has shown fluctuations within the day, ranging between $50.26 and $51.79, and has experienced a recent decline of 1.60% with a change of $0.82, setting the current price at $50.33 [2].

The market capitalization of EQH is valued at approximately $15.18 billion, with a trading volume of 3,325,314 shares, underscoring its substantial role in the financial sector [2].

Corporate insider sentiment remains negative, with 94 insiders selling shares over the past quarter [3].

References:
[1] https://za.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/equitable-holdings-stock-price-target-lowered-to-70-at-bmo-capital-93CH-3837088
[2] https://site.financialmodelingprep.com/market-news/equitable-holdings-inc-eqh-financial-overview-future-outlook
[3] https://www.ainvest.com/news/jefferies-maintains-buy-rating-equitable-holdings-sets-price-target-72-00-2508/