Scotiabank Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for EQB

Key Points

• Scotiabank lowered its FY2027 EPS estimate for EQB to C$11.50 from C$11.61, below the reported consensus estimate of C$12.60.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall: EQB has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a C$139.50 average price target, with six Buy ratings and five Hold ratings.
• EQB increased its quarterly dividend to C$0.63 per share from C$0.61, while insiders collectively bought 184,200 shares worth about C$23.6 million over the past 90 days.

EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB - Free Report) - Research analysts at Scotiabank cut their FY2027 EPS estimates for EQB in a research note issued on Monday, November 2nd. Scotiabank analyst M. Saric now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $11.50 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $11.61. The consensus estimate for EQB's current full-year earnings is $12.60 per share.

EQB (TSE:EQB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported C$2.12 earnings per share for the quarter. EQB had a negative return on equity of 0.07% and a negative net margin of 0.08%. The firm had revenue of C$393.04 million for the quarter.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on EQB from C$128.00 to C$127.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial upgraded EQB from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from C$120.00 to C$124.00 in a research report on Tuesday. TD boosted their target price on EQB from C$123.00 to C$154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of EQB from C$131.00 to C$146.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised their price target on shares of EQB from C$120.00 to C$143.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$139.50.

EQB Stock Performance

Shares of EQB opened at C$127.87 on Thursday. EQB has a 52-week low of C$83.93 and a 52-week high of C$150.32. The firm has a market cap of C$5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -456.68, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.86. The business's fifty day moving average is C$124.21 and its 200-day moving average is C$122.52.

EQB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from EQB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. EQB's dividend payout ratio is presently -828.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Loblaw Companies Limited acquired 8,000 shares of EQB stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$127.05 per share, for a total transaction of C$1,016,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,780,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$226,161,705. The trade was a 0.45% increase in their position. Also, Director Andrew Michael Bunston bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$126.37 per share, with a total value of C$25,274.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 200 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$25,274. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have purchased a total of 184,200 shares of company stock worth $23,628,874 in the last 90 days. 29.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

EQB Company Profile

EQB Inc TSX: EQB is a leading Canadian financial services company with approximately $151 billion in combined assets under management and administration. It is the parent company of Equitable Bank, the country's seventh largest Schedule I bank by assets, which operates EQ Bank, Canada's Challenger Bank. Our purpose is to remake banking so every Canadian gets ahead, every day. Since 1970, we have built thoughtful financial solutions that serve more than 4 million customers, turning everyday moments into meaningful progress.

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