EQB (TSE:EQB) Downgraded to Hold Rating by BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has downgraded EQB from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating, lowering the target price from C$115.00 to C$111.00.
• In recent reports, both CIBC and Jefferies Financial Group also reduced their target prices for EQB, indicating a concerning trend among financial analysts.
• Despite the downgrade, EQB maintains an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a potential upside of 10.09% from its current price.

BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of EQB (TSE:EQB - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have C$111.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of C$115.00.

EQB has been the topic of several other reports. CIBC lowered their target price on EQB from C$130.00 to C$126.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. National Bankshares lowered their target price on EQB from C$117.00 to C$111.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on EQB from C$126.00 to C$107.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$118.40.

EQB Price Performance

EQB stock traded down C$0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting C$101.58. The stock had a trading volume of 78,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,457. EQB has a twelve month low of C$85.14 and a twelve month high of C$114.22. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.59. The company's 50-day moving average price is C$99.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$98.32.

EQB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from EQB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. EQB's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.31%.

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.