EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB) Stock Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• EQB has a consensus “Hold” rating from 11 analysts: six rate it a buy, four a hold and one a sell. The average 12-month price target is C$139.10, while recent analyst targets ranged from C$120 to C$154.
• EQB shares opened at C$119.00, with the stock down 0.4% and trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company reported quarterly EPS of C$2.12 on revenue of C$393.04 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to C$0.63 per share, equivalent to a 2.1% annualized yield. Insider ownership stands at 29.02%, with insiders purchasing roughly C$25.9 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Shares of EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$139.10.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of EQB from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating and cut their price target for the company from C$136.00 to C$120.00 in a report on Friday, August 28th. National Bank Financial raised their target price on EQB from C$120.00 to C$143.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut their price target on EQB from C$165.00 to C$154.00 and set an "outperformer" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Desjardins dropped their target price on shares of EQB from C$155.00 to C$150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on EQB from C$131.00 to C$146.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EQB news, insider Loblaw Companies Limited acquired 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$124.91 per share, for a total transaction of C$1,998,560.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,474,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$184,129,831. This trade represents a 1.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have bought 200,200 shares of company stock worth $25,869,034 over the last 90 days. 29.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

EQB Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of EQB stock opened at C$119.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of C$5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -425.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$124.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$122.21. EQB has a 12 month low of C$83.93 and a 12 month high of C$150.32.

EQB (TSE:EQB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported C$2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$393.04 million during the quarter. EQB had a negative return on equity of 0.07% and a negative net margin of 0.08%. Analysts expect that EQB will post 12.60 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQB Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from EQB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. EQB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -828.57%.

About EQB

EQB Inc TSX: EQB is a leading Canadian financial services company with approximately $151 billion in combined assets under management and administration. It is the parent company of Equitable Bank, the country's seventh largest Schedule I bank by assets, which operates EQ Bank, Canada's Challenger Bank. Our purpose is to remake banking so every Canadian gets ahead, every day. Since 1970, we have built thoughtful financial solutions that serve more than 4 million customers, turning everyday moments into meaningful progress.

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