Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) Short Interest Up 19.6% in March

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 467,632 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the February 26th total of 391,051 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 123,076 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on EQBK. Wall Street Zen raised Equity Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Equity Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Equity Bancshares from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Equity Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.67.

Equity Bancshares Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Equity Bancshares stock opened at $44.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $933.13 million, a P/E ratio of 33.94 and a beta of 0.84. Equity Bancshares has a 1 year low of $34.11 and a 1 year high of $50.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.92.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 54.96%.

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 282.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Equity Bancshares by 132.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Equity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Equity Bancshares by 233.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.