EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB) Receives C$133.20 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$138.10.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EQB. Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of EQB from C$132.00 to C$155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD upped their target price on shares of EQB from C$123.00 to C$154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price target on EQB from C$151.00 to C$165.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on EQB from C$123.00 to C$136.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on EQB from C$122.00 to C$125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st.

EQB Stock Performance

Shares of EQB stock opened at C$133.42 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.92. EQB has a 1-year low of C$83.93 and a 1-year high of C$150.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$136.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$122.98.

EQB (TSE:EQB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported C$2.03 EPS for the quarter. EQB had a return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 6.61%.The company had revenue of C$302.36 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that EQB will post 12.5988235 EPS for the current year.

EQB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from EQB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. EQB’s payout ratio is presently 44.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Loblaw Companies Limited purchased 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$134.00 per share, with a total value of C$1,072,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,426,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$191,097,400. This trade represents a 0.56% increase in their position. Also, insider Gavin Stanley sold 900 shares of EQB stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$137.37, for a total value of C$123,633.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,238 shares in the company, valued at C$307,434.06. This represents a 28.68% decrease in their position. In the last three months, insiders acquired 46,100 shares of company stock valued at $6,479,348 and sold 7,484 shares valued at $1,069,719. 29.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About EQB

EQB Inc formerly Equitable Group Inc trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C and serves over 360000 Canadians through its wholly owned subsidiary Equitable Bank Canadas Challenger Bank. Equitable Bank has grown to become the countrys eighth largest independent Schedule I bank with a clear mandate to drive real change in Canadian banking to enrich peoples lives. At Equitable Bank we are as invested in our employees as we are in our business. Thats why we are consistently recognized as one of Canadas Top Employers a rating that comes from our 1300+ employees.