Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $44.06, but opened at $42.40. Equity Bancshares shares last traded at $42.26, with a volume of 16,680 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EQBK shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Equity Bancshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Equity Bancshares from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.80.

Equity Bancshares Stock Down 1.9%

The stock has a market cap of $707.10 million, a PE ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $40.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.54.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.89%.

Insider Activity

In other Equity Bancshares news, COO Julie A. Huber sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.10, for a total value of $156,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,688 shares in the company, valued at $2,255,600.80. This represents a 6.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 90,037 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,547,000 after buying an additional 17,196 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the first quarter worth $154,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Equity Bancshares by 5.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 61,768 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the first quarter worth $553,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,679 shares of the bank's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.