Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $53.67 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Equity Bancshares, with an average 12-month price target of $53.67 versus the stock’s recent price of $48.66.
• Equity Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $1.40, exceeding estimates of $1.29, while revenue reached $83.73 million. Analysts project full-year EPS of approximately $5.17.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.18 to $0.22 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.88 and a 1.8% yield.

Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.67.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EQBK shares. Zacks Research upgraded Equity Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. DA Davidson set a $50.00 price target on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th.

Equity Bancshares Trading Up 2.4%

EQBK stock opened at $48.66 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.00. Equity Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $39.97 and a fifty-two week high of $52.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $83.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.91 million. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 20.34%. Analysts expect that Equity Bancshares will post 5.17 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 paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This is a boost from Equity Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Bancshares news, Director Donald Scott Rogerson bought 2,000 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,150. The trade was a 24.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber bought 989 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $50.98 per share, with a total value of $50,419.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $106,650.16. This trade represents a 89.66% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 5,369 shares of company stock worth $269,456 and sold 24,500 shares worth $1,250,951. 14.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 745,825 shares of the company's stock worth $33,122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,967,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 87,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,865,000 after buying an additional 6,707 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 48,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,159,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $1,585,000. 71.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Equity Bancshares

Equity Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Through its principal subsidiary, Equity Bank, the company provides banking services to businesses, agricultural operations, institutions and individual consumers.

Equity Bank's products and services include commercial and agricultural lending, real estate financing, consumer loans, deposit accounts, treasury management, online and mobile banking, mortgage services and wealth management. The bank also provides cash-management and other financial solutions designed to support business and community banking customers.

Founded in 2002, Equity Bancshares has expanded through organic growth and the acquisition of community banks.

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