Creative Planning Raises Stake in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK)

Creative Planning increased its holdings in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 80,133 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 3,399 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Equity Bancshares were worth $3,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 754,069 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,917,000 after acquiring an additional 10,868 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its position in Equity Bancshares by 2,539.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 350,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,320,000 after purchasing an additional 336,742 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 890.4% during the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 104,985 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after buying an additional 94,385 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 79,831 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,810,000 after buying an additional 3,838 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 8.0% in the 1st 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. 71.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EQBK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Equity Bancshares from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Equity Bancshares from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Equity Bancshares Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EQBK opened at $42.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $642.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.20 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.78 and a 1 year high of $45.60.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Bancshares

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

Equity Bancshares Company Profile

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.