Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on EQBK. Wall Street Zen downgraded Equity Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Equity Bancshares from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Equity Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on Equity Bancshares from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.67.

Equity Bancshares Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:EQBK opened at $49.10 on Monday. 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 has a twelve month low of $40.00 and a twelve month high of $52.27. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.35.

Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.11. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 20.34% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The business had revenue of $83.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.91 million. Analysts anticipate that Equity Bancshares will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Bancshares

In other Equity Bancshares news, Director Donald Scott Rogerson bought 2,000 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $50.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,150. This trade represents a 24.68% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 14.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQBK. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Equity Bancshares by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 745,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,967,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 8.4% in the 1st 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 period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 48,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares in the first quarter worth about $1,585,000. 71.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equity Bancshares

Equity Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Through its principal subsidiary, Equity Bank, the company provides banking services to businesses, agricultural operations, institutions and individual consumers.

Equity Bank’s products and services include commercial and agricultural lending, real estate financing, consumer loans, deposit accounts, treasury management, online and mobile banking, mortgage services and wealth management. The bank also provides cash-management and other financial solutions designed to support business and community banking customers.

Founded in 2002, Equity Bancshares has expanded through organic growth and the acquisition of community banks.