EQB (TSE:EQB) Shares Down 10.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• EQB shares fell 10.3% to C$123.66, with trading volume 132% above the average. The stock’s market capitalization is approximately C$4.40 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with six Buy ratings and five Holds; the average price target is C$138.10, above the latest trading price.
• EQB reported quarterly earnings of C$2.12 per share and C$393.04 million in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to C$0.61 per share, or C$2.44 annually.

EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 10.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as C$121.80 and last traded at C$123.66. 275,833 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 132% from the average daily volume of 118,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$137.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD increased their price objective on EQB from C$123.00 to C$154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Desjardins increased their price target on EQB from C$132.00 to C$155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on EQB from C$122.00 to C$129.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. National Bank Financial boosted their price objective on EQB from C$120.00 to C$143.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of EQB from C$123.00 to C$136.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$138.10.

EQB Stock Down 10.0%

The stock has a market cap of C$4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of C$136.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$123.50.

EQB (TSE:EQB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported C$2.12 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$393.04 million during the quarter. EQB had a return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 6.61%. On average, research analysts expect that EQB Inc. will post 12.5988235 earnings per share for the current year.

EQB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from EQB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. EQB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Loblaw Companies Limited acquired 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$141.57 per share, with a total value of C$1,132,560.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,250,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$176,976,657. This represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Gavin Stanley sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$137.37, for a total value of C$123,633.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$307,434.06. The trade was a 28.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 46,100 shares of company stock valued at $6,479,348 and sold 7,484 shares valued at $1,069,719. 29.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

EQB Company Profile

EQB Inc formerly Equitable Group Inc trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C and serves over 360000 Canadians through its wholly owned subsidiary Equitable Bank Canadas Challenger Bank. Equitable Bank has grown to become the countrys eighth largest independent Schedule I bank with a clear mandate to drive real change in Canadian banking to enrich peoples lives. At Equitable Bank we are as invested in our employees as we are in our business. Thats why we are consistently recognized as one of Canadas Top Employers a rating that comes from our 1300+ employees.

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