Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

EQBK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Benchmark began 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Hovde Group began coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Equity Bancshares Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE EQBK opened at $50.43 on Friday. Equity Bancshares has a one year low of $36.04 and a one year high of $51.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Equity Bancshares

In related news, Director Donald Scott Rogerson acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $45.93 per share, for a total transaction of $91,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $229,650. The trade was a 66.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Brett A. Reber sold 1,686 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.85, for a total transaction of $80,675.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 34,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,650,585.75. This represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 98.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 16,200 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 87,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,865,000 after buying an additional 6,707 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 74.5% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 6,593 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 38.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Equity Bancshares by 0.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 48,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.