Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Equity Bancshares from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of EQBK opened at $51.35 on Friday. Equity Bancshares has a 1 year low of $38.60 and a 1 year high of $52.27. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.38 and a 200-day moving average of $46.80.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $81.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.10 million. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 8.26%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equity Bancshares will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.11%.

Insider Activity at Equity Bancshares

In related news, Director Donald Scott Rogerson bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $50.25 per share, for a total transaction of $100,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $407,175.75. The trade was a 32.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber bought 989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.98 per share, for a total transaction of $50,419.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,650.16. This represents a 89.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,186 shares of company stock worth $1,331,626. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,930,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,216,000 after purchasing an additional 44,681 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 96,695 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,541,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 921,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,518,000 after buying an additional 22,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Equity Bancshares by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 761,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,974,000 after buying an additional 3,765 shares during the period. 71.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.