Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

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.

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

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EQBK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equity Bancshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th.

Equity Bancshares Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ EQBK traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.15. 67,651 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 74,237. Equity Bancshares has a twelve month low of $34.11 and a twelve month high of $50.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $650.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.13.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $119,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Equity Bancshares by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 840,934 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,672,000 after acquiring an additional 37,187 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 384,574 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,314,000 after purchasing an additional 24,117 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Equity Bancshares by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 39,943 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 24,279 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 740.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 577,230 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,486,000 after purchasing an additional 508,509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.80% of the company's stock.

Equity Bancshares Company Profile

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.