Insider Buying: Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Director Acquires $18,536.40 in Stock

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) Director Leon Borck bought 380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $48.78 per share, with a total value of $18,536.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,698,489.60. This trade represents a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of EQBK stock opened at $47.55 on Thursday. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.97 and a 1-year high of $52.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $979.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.97.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $83.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.91 million. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 20.34%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQBK has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson set a $50.00 target price on Equity Bancshares in a report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Equity Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $3,967,000. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Equity Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $1,585,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 310.3% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 28,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 21,207 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 98.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 16,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $408,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.80% of the company’s stock.

About Equity Bancshares

Equity Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Through its principal subsidiary, Equity Bank, the company provides banking services to businesses, agricultural operations, institutions and individual consumers.

Equity Bank’s products and services include commercial and agricultural lending, real estate financing, consumer loans, deposit accounts, treasury management, online and mobile banking, mortgage services and wealth management. The bank also provides cash-management and other financial solutions designed to support business and community banking customers.

Founded in 2002, Equity Bancshares has expanded through organic growth and the acquisition of community banks.