Insider Buying: EQB (TSE:EQB) Insider Purchases 16,000 Shares

Key Points

• Loblaw Companies Limited purchased 16,000 EQB shares at an average price of C$127.81, investing approximately C$2.04 million and increasing its ownership by 1.04% to 1,548,100 shares.
• The purchase continues a broader insider-buying pattern, with Loblaw acquiring EQB shares in multiple transactions since July for several million dollars in total.
• EQB shares traded at C$132.92, while analysts’ average target price was C$139.10 and their consensus rating was “Hold.” The company reported quarterly EPS of C$2.12 and raised its quarterly dividend to C$0.61.

EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB - Get Free Report) insider Loblaw Companies Limited bought 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$127.81 per share, with a total value of C$2,044,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,548,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$197,862,661. This trade represents a 1.04% increase in their ownership of the stock.

Loblaw Companies Limited also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 31st, Loblaw Companies Limited purchased 16,000 shares of EQB stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$126.79 per share, with a total value of C$2,028,640.00.
• On Thursday, September 3rd, Loblaw Companies Limited purchased 8,000 shares of EQB stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$133.12 per share, with a total value of C$1,064,960.00.
• On Monday, August 24th, Loblaw Companies Limited acquired 8,000 shares of EQB stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$133.47 per share, with a total value of C$1,067,760.00.
• On Wednesday, August 26th, Loblaw Companies Limited purchased 8,000 shares of EQB stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$137.01 per share, with a total value of C$1,096,080.00.
• On Thursday, August 27th, Loblaw Companies Limited bought 16,000 shares of EQB stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$124.91 per share, with a total value of C$1,998,560.00.
• On Thursday, August 20th, Loblaw Companies Limited acquired 8,000 shares of EQB stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$134.00 per share, with a total value of C$1,072,000.00.
• On Tuesday, August 4th, Loblaw Companies Limited acquired 8,000 shares of EQB stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$142.40 per share, for a total transaction of C$1,139,200.00.
• On Thursday, August 6th, Loblaw Companies Limited bought 8,000 shares of EQB stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$137.62 per share, with a total value of C$1,100,960.00.
• On Wednesday, July 15th, Loblaw Companies Limited bought 6,100 shares of EQB stock. The stock was bought at an average price of C$143.88 per share, for a total transaction of C$877,668.00.
• On Friday, July 17th, Loblaw Companies Limited purchased 8,000 shares of EQB stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$144.62 per share, for a total transaction of C$1,156,960.00.

EQB Stock Performance

EQB stock traded down C$1.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting C$132.92. 113,816 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 121,772. EQB Inc. has a 12-month low of C$83.93 and a 12-month high of C$150.32. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is C$137.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$124.06. The stock has a market cap of C$5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -474.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.83.

EQB (TSE:EQB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported C$2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$393.04 million for the quarter. EQB had a negative net margin of 0.08% and a negative return on equity of 0.07%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that EQB Inc. will post 12.5988235 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQB Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from EQB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. EQB's payout ratio is -828.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on EQB. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price target on shares of EQB from C$165.00 to C$154.00 and set an "outperformer" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 28th. National Bank Financial increased their price target on shares of EQB from C$120.00 to C$143.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial downgraded EQB from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from C$136.00 to C$120.00 in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on EQB from C$128.00 to C$127.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on EQB from C$131.00 to C$146.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EQB currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$139.10.

About EQB

EQB Inc TSX: EQB is a leading Canadian financial services company with approximately $151 billion in combined assets under management and administration. It is the parent company of Equitable Bank, the country's seventh largest Schedule I bank by assets, which operates EQ Bank, Canada's Challenger Bank. Our purpose is to remake banking so every Canadian gets ahead, every day. Since 1970, we have built thoughtful financial solutions that serve more than 4 million customers, turning everyday moments into meaningful progress.

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