ELCO Management Co. LLC Cuts Stake in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK)

ELCO Management Co. LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Free Report) by 30.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,110 shares of the bank's stock after selling 9,169 shares during the quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC owned about 0.12% of Equity Bancshares worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $4,794,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $703,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $160,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $698,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 30,081 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.80.

Insider Transactions at Equity Bancshares

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

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Equity Bancshares stock traded down $0.77 on Wednesday, hitting $40.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 136,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,482. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.95 and a 52-week high of $50.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.54. The company has a market capitalization of $707.10 million, a P/E ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.78.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

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.