Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.6667.

EQBK has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Equity Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd.

Equity Bancshares Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of EQBK stock opened at $44.21 on Thursday. Equity Bancshares has a 1-year low of $34.11 and a 1-year high of $50.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $927.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.95 and a 200-day moving average of $43.75.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 54.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EQBK. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $49,541,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 213,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,704,000 after buying an additional 104,613 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,222,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,768,000 after buying an additional 96,695 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 144,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,915,000 after acquiring an additional 76,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,933,000. Institutional investors own 71.80% of the company’s stock.

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.