EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• EQB has a consensus “Hold” rating from 11 brokerages: six analysts recommend holding and five recommend buying. The average 12-month price target is C$133.20.
• Recent analysts raised their price targets, ranging from C$125 to C$154, while EQB shares opened at C$142.00 and have traded between C$83.93 and C$150.32 over the past year.
• EQB reported quarterly EPS of C$2.03 on revenue of C$302.36 million and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.61 per share, equivalent to a 1.7% annual yield.

Shares of EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$133.20.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EQB shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on EQB from C$122.00 to C$125.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. TD lifted their price objective on EQB from C$123.00 to C$154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of EQB from C$122.00 to C$129.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. National Bank Financial upped their target price on shares of EQB from C$120.00 to C$143.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of EQB from C$123.00 to C$136.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday.

EQB Stock Performance

EQB stock opened at C$142.00 on Monday. EQB has a 1 year low of C$83.93 and a 1 year high of C$150.32. The stock's 50 day moving average price is C$134.35 and its 200 day moving average price is C$121.97. The firm has a market cap of C$5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.92.

EQB (TSE:EQB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported C$2.03 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$302.36 million for the quarter. EQB had a return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 6.61%. On average, research analysts predict that EQB will post 12.5988235 earnings per share for the current year.

EQB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from EQB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. EQB's payout ratio is currently 44.01%.

Insider Activity

In other EQB news, insider Gavin Stanley sold 900 shares of EQB stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$137.37, for a total value of C$123,633.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$307,434.06. The trade was a 28.68% decrease in their position. Also, Director Darren Lorimer sold 1,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$149.00, for a total value of C$275,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$765,562. This trade represents a 26.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 38,100 shares of company stock worth $5,407,348 and sold 7,484 shares worth $1,069,719. Company insiders own 29.02% of the company's stock.

About EQB

EQB Inc formerly Equitable Group Inc trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C and serves over 360000 Canadians through its wholly owned subsidiary Equitable Bank Canadas Challenger Bank. Equitable Bank has grown to become the countrys eighth largest independent Schedule I bank with a clear mandate to drive real change in Canadian banking to enrich peoples lives. At Equitable Bank we are as invested in our employees as we are in our business. Thats why we are consistently recognized as one of Canadas Top Employers a rating that comes from our 1300+ employees.

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