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

Creative Planning cut its position in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 76,734 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,965 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning owned 0.50% of Equity Bancshares worth $2,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $322,000. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 112.5% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 13,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 97.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 8.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 75,240 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $364,000. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

EQBK opened at $39.14 on Friday. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.78 and a 52-week high of $42.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.15. The company has a market cap of $597.00 million, a P/E ratio of 65.23 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.07. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 3.75% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $55.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.56 million. On average, analysts expect that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Equity Bancshares from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Equity Bancshares from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Leon Borck purchased 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.77 per share, for a total transaction of $56,875.59. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $462,952.57. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Equity Bancshares news, Director Gregory L. Gaeddert sold 6,000 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total transaction of $245,940.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,167 shares in the company, valued at $703,675.33. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon Borck bought 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.77 per share, for a total transaction of $56,875.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $462,952.57. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,101 shares of company stock worth $1,351,925. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Equity Bancshares

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.