Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Equity Bancshares was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from “hold” to “buy”, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop for the stock.
• Recent analyst action has been mixed but mostly constructive: several firms raised price targets or reiterated bullish ratings, and the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with a $54.17 average price target.
• The company recently posted Q2 earnings of $1.41 per share, beating estimates of $1.24, while shares were trading near $50.43, close to the stock’s 52-week high of $51.73.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Equity Bancshares from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQBK opened at $50.43 on Friday. Equity Bancshares has a 12-month low of $36.04 and a 12-month high of $51.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.19 and a 200 day moving average of $46.09.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $81.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $85.10 million. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 13.67%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equity Bancshares will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Equity Bancshares

In other news, Director Donald Scott Rogerson bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.93 per share, for a total transaction of $91,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $229,650. This represents a 66.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Brett A. Reber sold 1,686 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.85, for a total value of $80,675.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 34,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,650,585.75. This represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Equity Bancshares by 282.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 132.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 972 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 233.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Equity Bancshares by 33.3% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,189 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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