Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,575 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $703,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Equity Bancshares at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Equity Bancshares by 740.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 577,230 shares of the bank's stock worth $24,486,000 after acquiring an additional 508,509 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP LP grew its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP LP now owns 1,217,214 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,634,000 after purchasing an additional 215,000 shares during the last quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $2,121,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 840,934 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,672,000 after purchasing an additional 37,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Equity Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,374,000. Institutional investors own 71.80% of the company's stock.

Equity Bancshares Trading Down 0.5 %

EQBK stock opened at $39.19 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.75 and a twelve month high of $50.85. The company has a market cap of $686.11 million, a P/E ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.57 and a 200-day moving average of $42.34.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Bancshares

In other Equity Bancshares news, COO Julie A. Huber sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.10, for a total transaction of $156,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 57,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,255,600.80. The trade was a 6.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EQBK shares. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Equity Bancshares from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.60.

Equity Bancshares 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.

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