Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) CEO Sells $21,224.32 in Stock

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) CEO Brad Elliott sold 416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.02, for a total transaction of $21,224.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,822,069.26. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

NYSE:EQBK opened at $50.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.45. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.04 and a 1-year high of $51.73.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $81.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $85.10 million. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 13.67%. Analysts forecast that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 282.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 132.0% in 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 in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 233.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Equity Bancshares by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Benchmark began coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. Stephens increased their price target on Equity Bancshares from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Hovde Group began coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.17.

About Equity Bancshares

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.