Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $666,000 Holdings in Equity Bancshares, Inc. $EQBK

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its holdings in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) by 62.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,600 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Equity Bancshares were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 0.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 48,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 0.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 745,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 2.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 74,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,294,000 after buying an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 310.3% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 28,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after buying an additional 21,207 shares in the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equity Bancshares

In other news, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 4,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $212,914.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,313 shares in the company, valued at $2,827,600.56. This trade represents a 7.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Brett A. Reber sold 1,686 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.85, for a total value of $80,675.10. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 34,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,650,585.75. This trade represents a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,039 shares of company stock worth $1,324,083. 14.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equity Bancshares Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:EQBK opened at $51.61 on Monday. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $38.60 and a one year high of $52.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.29 and a 200-day moving average of $46.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 0.77.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.17. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $81.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.10 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 43.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EQBK shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Equity Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.17.

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.