Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Benchmark

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) was upgraded by Benchmark to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.20.

Equity Bancshares Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE EQBK opened at $48.10 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $992.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.77. Equity Bancshares has a 52 week low of $36.04 and a 52 week high of $50.07.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.85% and a net margin of 6.15%.The business had revenue of $83.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.24 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equity Bancshares will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Equity Bancshares

In other news, General Counsel Brett A. Reber sold 1,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were 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. This represents a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Donald Scott Rogerson bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $45.93 per share, with a total value of $91,860.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $229,650. This represents a 66.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 279,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,469,000 after acquiring an additional 75,785 shares in the last quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $777,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 310.3% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 28,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 21,207 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Equity Bancshares during the first quarter worth $1,585,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $286,000. 71.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.