FJ Capital Management LLC Buys 100,219 Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK)

FJ Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,127,376 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 100,219 shares during the period. Equity Bancshares comprises 5.5% of FJ Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. FJ Capital Management LLC owned about 7.37% of Equity Bancshares worth $47,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $98,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 139.9% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,725 shares of the bank's stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Equity Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $119,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Equity Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $160,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on EQBK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Equity Bancshares in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.60.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EQBK traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.50. The stock had a trading volume of 38,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,989. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.75 and a 52 week high of $50.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $691.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.27.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 15.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Julie A. Huber sold 4,000 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.10, for a total value of $156,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 57,688 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,255,600.80. This trade represents a 6.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

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.