Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Reaches New 12-Month High on Insider Buying Activity

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $51.73 and last traded at $51.52, with a volume of 10632 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.00.

Specifically, Director Donald Scott Rogerson bought 2,000 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.25 per share, with a total value of $100,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,103 shares in the company, valued at $407,175.75. This trade represents a 32.77% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber purchased 989 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $50.98 per share, with a total value of $50,419.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,650.16. This represents a 89.66% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQBK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens lifted their target price on Equity Bancshares from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Equity Bancshares Trading Up 1.0%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.49.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $81.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.10 million. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 13.67%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 43.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Equity Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $145,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 334.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,893,000 after buying an additional 36,987 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 18.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 90,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,547,000 after purchasing an additional 17,196 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Equity Bancshares by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 61,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.80% of the company’s stock.

Equity Bancshares Company Profile

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.