Brad Elliott Sells 4,165 Shares of Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Stock

Key Points

• CEO Brad Elliott sold 4,165 Equity Bancshares shares for approximately $212,915, reducing his direct ownership by 7% to 55,313 shares.
• Equity Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.24, while revenue of $81.93 million fell short of expectations.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.72 dividend and a 1.4% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $54.17 target price.

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) CEO Brad Elliott sold 4,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total transaction of $212,914.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,827,600.56. This represents a 7.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Equity Bancshares stock traded up $0.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.73. 19,029 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 117,337. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.42. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.04 and a 12 month high of $51.73.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $81.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $85.10 million. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 13.67%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Equity Bancshares by 282.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Equity Bancshares by 132.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 972 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Equity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Equity Bancshares by 233.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 33.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EQBK shares. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Equity Bancshares from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson raised 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 boosted their target price on shares of Equity Bancshares from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.17.

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.

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