Insider Selling: Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) COO Sells 5,303 Shares of Stock

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) COO Julie Huber sold 5,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total transaction of $270,718.15. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 62,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,165,559.45. The trade was a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Equity Bancshares stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 43,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,721. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.63 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.04 and a twelve month high of $51.73.

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

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equity Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 282.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 132.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares in the second quarter worth $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 233.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 33.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.