Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $48.77 and last traded at $48.42, with a volume of 2215 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens upgraded Equity Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Equity Bancshares from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Equity Bancshares Trading Up 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.76. The firm has a market cap of $750.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.62 and a beta of 0.89.

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.32. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 6.36%. The company had revenue of $55.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.77 million. Equities analysts expect that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total transaction of $98,072.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,384.56. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon Borck purchased 1,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.77 per share, for a total transaction of $56,875.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,952.57. This trade represents a 14.01 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 8.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp increased its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 2,539.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 350,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,320,000 after acquiring an additional 336,742 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 890.4% in the second quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 104,985 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 94,385 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 175.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 112,292 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,590,000 after buying an additional 71,547 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $2,809,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 247.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 23,308 shares of the bank’s stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 16,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.80% 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.