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

Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.3333.

A number of equities analysts have commented on EQBK shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th.

Insider Activity

In other Equity Bancshares news, Director Donald Scott Rogerson purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.93 per share, for a total transaction of $91,860.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $229,650. This trade represents a 66.67% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQBK. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,541,000. FJ Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,222,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,768,000 after purchasing an additional 96,695 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 279,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,469,000 after purchasing an additional 75,785 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,933,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 16,290.5% in the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 46,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 46,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.80% of the company’s stock.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQBK opened at $46.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $954.46 million, a P/E ratio of 36.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Equity Bancshares has a 1-year low of $36.04 and a 1-year high of $50.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.19 and its 200-day moving average is $45.20.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Equity Bancshares will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

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.