Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $50.10 and last traded at $50.1910, with a volume of 142411 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Hovde Group started coverage on Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.20.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.85.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Bancshares

In other Equity Bancshares news, Director Donald Scott Rogerson bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $45.93 per share, with a total value of $91,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Brett A. Reber sold 1,686 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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. 14.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 98.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after acquiring an additional 16,200 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Equity Bancshares by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 87,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,865,000 after purchasing an additional 6,707 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Equity Bancshares by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 6,593 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 38.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 4,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 0.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 48,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.