Insider Selling: Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) CEO Sells 416 Shares of Stock

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) CEO Brad Elliott sold 416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.02, for a total transaction of $21,224.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,822,069.26. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Equity Bancshares Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:EQBK traded up $0.00 on Friday, hitting $50.73. The stock had a trading volume of 19,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,337. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.04 and a 1 year high of $51.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.42. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.38 and a beta of 0.77.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $81.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.10 million. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 8.26%. Analysts predict that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 43.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Equity Bancshares by 98.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after acquiring an additional 16,200 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Equity Bancshares by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 87,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,865,000 after purchasing an additional 6,707 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 6,593 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 48,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 300 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.