Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Equity Bancshares, Inc. $EQBK

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Equity Bancshares, owning approximately 5.08% of the company with a total investment of $35.01 million after acquiring 47,716 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their holdings in Equity Bancshares, including Wellington Management Group, which raised its position by 740%, now owning 577,230 shares valued at $24.49 million.
• Equity Bancshares has a current average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a consensus price target of $47.80 after recent upgrades in price objectives from analysts.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 888,650 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 47,716 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.08% of Equity Bancshares worth $35,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $561,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 6.0% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 50,114 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,836 shares during the period. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the first quarter valued at about $349,000. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the first quarter valued at about $217,000. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQBK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, July 16th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.80.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of EQBK stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.51. The company had a trading volume of 53,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 75,557. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.11 and a 52-week high of $50.85. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $40.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $778.43 million, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 0.85.

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.