Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.60.

A number of analysts have recently commented on EQBK shares. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Equity Bancshares from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company.

Equity Bancshares Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Equity Bancshares stock opened at $38.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $679.65 million, a PE ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.88. Equity Bancshares has a 1 year low of $32.85 and a 1 year high of $50.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Julie A. Huber sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.10, for a total transaction of $156,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 57,688 shares in the company, valued at $2,255,600.80. This trade represents a 6.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,141 shares of the bank’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 292.7% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,757 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,559,000 after buying an additional 27,397 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $375,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,896 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 5,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 45,912 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 12,013 shares during the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Bancshares Company Profile

Equity Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Equity Bank that provides a range of banking, mortgage banking, and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts various demand, savings, money market, and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, commercial lines of credit, working capital, term, equipment and aircraft financing, acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, real estate construction, homebuilder, agricultural, government guaranteed, and other loan products.