Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.3333.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EQBK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equity Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd.

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQBK. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 282.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Equity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 132.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Equity Bancshares by 233.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the period. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

EQBK stock opened at $45.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.56. Equity Bancshares has a 1-year low of $36.04 and a 1-year high of $50.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $952.17 million, a PE ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 0.84.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.17. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 6.15%.The company had revenue of $83.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.24 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equity Bancshares will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.