Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) Receives $54.17 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.1667.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Equity Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Benchmark began coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd.

Equity Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Equity Bancshares stock opened at $51.61 on Friday. Equity Bancshares has a 1 year low of $38.60 and a 1 year high of $52.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.17. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The company had revenue of $81.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.10 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equity Bancshares will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 43.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 12,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.03, for a total transaction of $626,240.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,822,622.39. This represents a 18.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber acquired 989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.98 per share, with a total value of $50,419.22. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,092 shares in the company, valued at $106,650.16. The trade was a 89.66% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,039 shares of company stock worth $1,324,083. 14.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EQBK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,967,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after buying an additional 16,200 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew 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 valued at $3,865,000 after buying an additional 6,707 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 6,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.80% of the company’s stock.

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.