Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $12.47 Million Stock Position in Equity Bancshares, Inc. $EQBK

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) by 37.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 279,264 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 75,785 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Equity Bancshares were worth $12,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 282.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Donald Scott Rogerson bought 2,000 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.93 per share, for a total transaction of $91,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,650. This trade represents a 66.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Brett A. Reber sold 1,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.85, for a total transaction of $80,675.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 34,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,650,585.75. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,236 shares of company stock worth $105,099. Insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on EQBK shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Equity Bancshares from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Equity Bancshares from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.25.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of EQBK stock opened at $48.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $997.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.37 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.58. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $36.04 and a one year high of $50.07.

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

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

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.