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

Key Points

• Equity Bancshares has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from nine analysts: five rate it a hold, three recommend buying, and one gives it a strong-buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $54.17, above the reported $51.00 share price.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.41 in EPS versus the $1.24 consensus, although revenue of $81.93 million fell short of the $85.10 million estimate.
• Equity Bancshares pays a quarterly dividend of $0.18, equivalent to a 1.4% annual yield, while insiders sold about $1.32 million worth of shares over the past 90 days. Institutional investors own 71.8% of the stock.

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.1667.

EQBK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Benchmark began coverage on Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equity Bancshares from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Equity Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of EQBK stock opened at $51.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Equity Bancshares has a twelve month low of $36.31 and a twelve month high of $52.27.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $81.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.10 million. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 13.67%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equity Bancshares will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 43.11%.

Insider Activity at Equity Bancshares

In related news, COO Julie A. Huber sold 5,303 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total value of $270,718.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 62,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,165,559.45. The trade was a 7.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 12,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.03, for a total value of $626,240.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,822,622.39. This represents a 18.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,039 shares of company stock worth $1,324,083 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 14.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $145,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Equity Bancshares by 334.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,038 shares of the company's stock worth $1,893,000 after acquiring an additional 36,987 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 18.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,679 shares of the company's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equity Bancshares by 23.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 90,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,547,000 after acquiring an additional 17,196 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 5.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 61,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares during the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Equity Bancshares

Equity Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Equity Bank, a regional financial services provider headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. As a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker EQBK, Equity Bancshares operates a network of branches and lending offices across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois and Colorado. Its geographic footprint spans both urban and rural markets, reflecting a focus on supporting small businesses, agricultural enterprises and individual consumers throughout the Midwest.

The company's core business activities encompass a full spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services.

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