Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Equity Bancshares Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Equity Bancshares stock opened at $50.23 on Friday. Equity Bancshares has a twelve month low of $36.04 and a twelve month high of $51.73. 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’s 50 day moving average is $47.29 and its 200 day moving average is $46.14. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 0.77.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $81.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.10 million. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 13.67%. Research analysts anticipate that Equity Bancshares will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Equity Bancshares

In related news, Director Donald Scott Rogerson purchased 2,000 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $45.93 per share, for a total transaction of $91,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $229,650. This represents a 66.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Brett A. Reber sold 1,686 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.85, for a total value of $80,675.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 34,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,650,585.75. This trade represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 75,785 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the first quarter valued at about $1,585,000. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $777,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the first quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, Maltese Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 329,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,698,000 after acquiring an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.80% of the company’s stock.

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.