Hovde Group Boosts Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Price Target to $53.00

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) had its price target upped by Hovde Group from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Hovde Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 4.15% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on EQBK. Stephens boosted 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 initiated coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.50.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

NYSE:EQBK opened at $50.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47 and a beta of 0.76. Equity Bancshares has a twelve month low of $38.60 and a twelve month high of $52.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.17. The company 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 13.34%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equity Bancshares will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 4,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $212,914.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,827,600.56. This represents a 7.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lisa Ann Schlehuber acquired 989 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,650.16. This trade represents a 89.66% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 4,989 shares of company stock worth $250,919 and have sold 26,186 shares worth $1,331,626. Corporate insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 7,658.1% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 988,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,432,000 after purchasing an additional 975,875 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,967,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after buying an additional 16,200 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Equity Bancshares by 8.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 87,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,865,000 after buying an additional 6,707 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.