Equity Bancshares, Inc. $EQBK Shares Purchased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Equity Bancshares, Inc. by 23.6%, owning a total of 90,037 shares valued at approximately $3.55 million.
• Equity Bancshares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, marking an increase from the previous $0.15 dividend, with a payout ratio currently at 17.87%.
• Analyst ratings for the stock range from Market Perform to Neutral, with a consensus price target of $48.40.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Free Report) by 23.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,037 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 17,196 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.51% of Equity Bancshares worth $3,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 1.3% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,547,284 shares of the bank's stock worth $60,963,000 after purchasing an additional 19,139 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 7.0% in the first quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,206,571 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,539,000 after acquiring an additional 79,195 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 5.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 888,650 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,013,000 after acquiring an additional 47,716 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 17.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 676,587 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,658,000 after acquiring an additional 99,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 0.7% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 382,468 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,069,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.80% of the company's stock.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

EQBK traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $41.64. 9,753 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 77,844. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.54. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.11 and a 12 month high of $50.85. The stock has a market cap of $800.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Equity Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 17.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQBK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Equity Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.40.

Equity Bancshares Company 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.