Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Director Buys 380 Shares of Stock

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) Director Leon Borck acquired 380 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.78 per share, for a total transaction of $18,536.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 96,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,698,489.60. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

Equity Bancshares stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $47.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 253,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,380. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.97 and a twelve month high of $52.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.91. The firm has a market cap of $973.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.80.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.11. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 20.34% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The company had revenue of $83.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.91 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 19.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQBK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,967,000. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Equity Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,585,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Equity Bancshares by 310.3% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 28,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 21,207 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 98.7% in the first 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. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on EQBK. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Stephens lowered their target price on Equity Bancshares from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Zacks Research raised Equity Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

Equity Bancshares Company Profile

Equity Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Through its subsidiary, Equity Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and public-sector organizations.

Equity Bank offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer financing, agricultural loans and commercial lines of credit. Its business banking services also include treasury management, cash management, electronic banking and other financial solutions designed to support operating and borrowing needs.

Founded in 2002, Equity Bancshares has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions.