Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) Receives $51.25 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.20.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark assumed coverage on Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Hovde Group assumed coverage on Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Bancshares news, General Counsel Brett A. Reber sold 1,686 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 34,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,650,585.75. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Donald Scott Rogerson acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.93 per share, with a total value of $91,860.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $229,650. The trade was a 66.67% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 48,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Equity Bancshares by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 51,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,306,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Equity Bancshares by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Equity Bancshares by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 282.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.80% of the company’s stock.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

NYSE:EQBK opened at $47.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $984.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85 and a beta of 0.78. Equity Bancshares has a 52-week low of $36.04 and a 52-week high of $50.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.99 and a 200 day moving average of $45.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

About Equity Bancshares

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.