Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.22

Key Points

• Equity Bancshares raised its quarterly dividend 22.2% to $0.22 per share, payable October 15 to shareholders of record September 30. The annualized payout is $0.88, yielding approximately 1.8%.
• The dividend appears well covered, with a 19.9% payout ratio and analysts projecting $5.51 in next-year earnings per share, implying an estimated 16.0% future payout ratio.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.41 EPS versus the $1.24 consensus estimate. Insiders bought shares recently, while institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 71.8% of the stock.

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share on Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This is a 22.2% increase from Equity Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18.

Equity Bancshares has a payout ratio of 19.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Equity Bancshares to earn $5.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.0%.

Equity Bancshares Trading Up 0.2%

Equity Bancshares stock opened at $48.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $998.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03 and a beta of 0.76. Equity Bancshares has a 52-week low of $38.60 and a 52-week high of $52.27.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.17. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 8.26%.The company had revenue of $81.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $85.10 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Equity Bancshares will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Bancshares

In related news, Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber bought 989 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.98 per share, for a total transaction of $50,419.22. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,092 shares in the company, valued at $106,650.16. This trade represents a 89.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Donald Scott Rogerson bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $505,150. This trade represents a 24.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 4,989 shares of company stock valued at $250,919 and have sold 24,500 shares valued at $1,250,951. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQBK. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Equity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 38,500.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in Equity Bancshares during the second quarter worth $227,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $293,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $286,000. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equity Bancshares

Equity Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Equity Bank, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. The company provides banking services to individuals, families, businesses, agricultural customers and government entities through its branch network and digital banking channels.

Equity Bank's products and services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer lending, residential mortgages, commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, agricultural loans, treasury management and other business banking services.

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