Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $39.78, but opened at $40.71. Equity Bancshares shares last traded at $40.69, with a volume of 1,052 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQBK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Equity Bancshares from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.00.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $629.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.30.

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.07. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 3.75% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $55.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.56 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leon Borck purchased 1,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.77 per share, with a total value of $56,875.59. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $462,952.57. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total value of $98,072.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,384.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon Borck acquired 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.77 per share, for a total transaction of $56,875.59. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,952.57. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,101 shares of company stock valued at $1,351,925 over the last 90 days. 8.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $322,000. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in Equity Bancshares by 112.5% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 13,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Equity Bancshares by 97.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 8.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 75,240 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares during the first quarter valued at about $364,000. 71.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equity Bancshares

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.