Kennedy Capital Management LLC Acquires 104,613 Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. $EQBK

Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 213,333 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,613 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Equity Bancshares were worth $8,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQBK. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equity Bancshares by 23.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 90,037 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,547,000 after acquiring an additional 17,196 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares during the first quarter valued at about $553,000. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 254.0% during the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 25,879 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 18,568 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 888,650 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,013,000 after purchasing an additional 47,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,585,000. 71.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of EQBK opened at $45.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $859.76 million, a P/E ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.88. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.11 and a 52 week high of $48.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This is an increase from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EQBK. Piper Sandler began coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equity Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.40.

Equity Bancshares Profile

Equity Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Equity Bank that provides a range of banking, mortgage banking, and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts various demand, savings, money market, and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, commercial lines of credit, working capital, term, equipment and aircraft financing, acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, real estate construction, homebuilder, agricultural, government guaranteed, and other loan products.