Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Equity Bancshares, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with three giving a hold recommendation and three a buy recommendation.
• The average twelve-month price target for the stock is $47.80, reflecting optimism from broker reports despite some recent reductions in price objectives.
• Institutional investors own approximately 71.80% of Equity Bancshares shares, with notable recent increases in stakes from firms like Wellington Management Group and Vanguard Group.

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.80.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equity Bancshares in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 311.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the bank's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Equity Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $98,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Equity Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $119,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 81,650.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,270 shares of the bank's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.80% of the company's stock.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Equity Bancshares stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.15. 67,711 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 74,406. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Equity Bancshares has a one year low of $34.11 and a one year high of $50.85. The stock has a market cap of $650.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.09.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.89%.

About Equity Bancshares

Equity Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Equity Bank that provides a range of banking, mortgage banking, and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts various demand, savings, money market, and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, commercial lines of credit, working capital, term, equipment and aircraft financing, acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, real estate construction, homebuilder, agricultural, government guaranteed, and other loan products.