Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) CEO Sells $626,240.16 in Stock

Key Points

• CEO Brad Elliott sold 12,272 Equity Bancshares shares for approximately $626,240 at an average price of $51.03, reducing his holdings by 18.16% to 55,313 shares.
• Equity Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $1.41, beating estimates of $1.24, while revenue of $81.93 million fell short of the $85.10 million consensus forecast.
• The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $54.17 price target; shares recently traded at $50.59, near their 52-week high of $51.73. The company also pays a $0.18 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.4%.

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) CEO Brad Elliott sold 12,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.03, for a total transaction of $626,240.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,822,622.39. This represents a 18.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

EQBK traded down $0.39 on Wednesday, hitting $50.59. 148,962 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 118,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business's fifty day moving average is $47.93 and its 200 day moving average is $46.36. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.04 and a fifty-two week high of $51.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 0.77.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $81.93 million during 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given 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 payout ratio is presently 43.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EQBK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equity Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equity Bancshares from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQBK. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 282.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Equity Bancshares by 132.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 972 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Equity Bancshares by 233.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,925 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.80% of the company's stock.

Equity Bancshares Company Profile

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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