Insider Buying: Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) Director Purchases $10,080.00 in Stock

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) Director Leon Borck purchased 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.32 per share, for a total transaction of $10,080.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,655 shares in the company, valued at $389,289.60. This represents a 2.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of EQBK stock opened at $41.77 on Friday. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.11 and a 12 month high of $50.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $802.68 million, a P/E ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.00 and its 200 day moving average is $39.86.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 282.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,189 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 3,825 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 71.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Equity Bancshares

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.