8,840 Shares in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) Bought by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,840 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $375,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Equity Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 26,266 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,033 shares of the bank's stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 113,013 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,794,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,043 shares of the bank's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,079 shares of the bank's stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQBK has been the topic of several research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.60.

Equity Bancshares Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:EQBK traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 46,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,491. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.24 and a 1 year high of $50.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.41 and a 200-day moving average of $41.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $681.28 million, a PE ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Equity Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 15.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Julie A. Huber sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.10, for a total transaction of $156,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 57,688 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,255,600.80. This trade represents a 6.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Bancshares Profile

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.