Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $48.61 and last traded at $48.23, with a volume of 5390 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EQBK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Equity Bancshares from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Equity Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Equity Bancshares Stock Down 1.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $723.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.97.

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $55.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.77 million. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 6.36% and a return on equity of 13.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Bancshares

In related news, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total transaction of $98,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 151,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,384.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Leon Borck acquired 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.77 per share, with a total value of $56,875.59. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $462,952.57. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total transaction of $98,072.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,979 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,384.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQBK. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Equity Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $203,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Equity Bancshares by 74.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 97.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triune Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $268,000. Institutional investors own 71.80% of the company’s stock.

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.