Insider Buying: Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Director Purchases $50,419.22 in Stock

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber acquired 989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $50.98 per share, with a total value of $50,419.22. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,650.16. This trade represents a 89.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Equity Bancshares Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE EQBK opened at $50.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.23 and a 200-day moving average of $46.45. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.04 and a 1-year high of $51.73.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.17. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 8.26%.The business had revenue of $81.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.10 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on EQBK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 282.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Equity Bancshares by 132.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Equity Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Equity Bancshares by 233.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Equity Bancshares by 33.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.