Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on EQBK. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday. DA Davidson increased their price target on Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.20.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQBK opened at $48.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $992.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.77. Equity Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $36.04 and a fifty-two week high of $50.07.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.17. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 12.85%. The firm had revenue of $83.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.24 million. On average, analysts expect that Equity Bancshares will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Bancshares

In related news, General Counsel Brett A. Reber sold 1,686 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.85, for a total value of $80,675.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 34,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,650,585.75. This trade represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Donald Scott Rogerson bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.93 per share, for a total transaction of $91,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $229,650. This represents a 66.67% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQBK. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 48,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 51,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 5.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Equity Bancshares by 282.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Bancshares Company Profile

Equity Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Equity Bank, a regional financial services provider headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. As a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker EQBK, Equity Bancshares operates a network of branches and lending offices across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois and Colorado. Its geographic footprint spans both urban and rural markets, reflecting a focus on supporting small businesses, agricultural enterprises and individual consumers throughout the Midwest.

The company’s core business activities encompass a full spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services.