Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on EQBK. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Benchmark assumed coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group began coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.17.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQBK opened at $51.61 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Equity Bancshares has a 1 year low of $38.60 and a 1 year high of $52.27.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.17. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $81.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.10 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Equity Bancshares will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Equity Bancshares

In other news, Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber bought 989 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.98 per share, with a total value of $50,419.22. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,650.16. This trade represents a 89.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Julie A. Huber sold 2,197 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $112,310.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 62,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,900.08. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 26,039 shares of company stock worth $1,324,083 over the last 90 days. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 0.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 48,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Equity Bancshares by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 51,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Equity Bancshares by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 282.0% during the 2nd 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. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.