Insider Buying: Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Director Acquires 989 Shares

Key Points

• Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber bought 989 shares of Equity Bancshares at an average price of $50.98, investing approximately $50,419 and increasing her direct ownership by 89.66%.
• Equity Bancshares shares fell 0.8% to $50.59, while the company’s latest quarterly earnings of $1.41 per share exceeded analysts’ $1.24 consensus estimate.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $54.17; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, yielding about 1.4%.

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber acquired 989 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.98 per share, for a total transaction of $50,419.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at $106,650.16. The trade was a 89.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Equity Bancshares Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:EQBK traded down $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.59. The company had a trading volume of 148,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,485. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 0.77. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $36.04 and a one year high of $51.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.17. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 8.26%.The firm had revenue of $81.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.10 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Equity Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 43.11%.

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 282.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 132.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 972 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Equity Bancshares in the second quarter worth approximately $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 233.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,925 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Equity Bancshares by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Equity Bancshares from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.17.

Equity Bancshares Company Profile

Equity Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Equity Bank, a regional financial services provider headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. As a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker EQBK, Equity Bancshares operates a network of branches and lending offices across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois and Colorado. Its geographic footprint spans both urban and rural markets, reflecting a focus on supporting small businesses, agricultural enterprises and individual consumers throughout the Midwest.

The company's core business activities encompass a full spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services.

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