FY2025 EPS Forecast for Equity Bancshares Boosted by Analyst

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) – Research analysts at DA Davidson raised their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report issued on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis now forecasts that the bank will post earnings of $4.15 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $3.90. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Equity Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $4.01 per share.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on EQBK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens upgraded Equity Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of EQBK stock opened at $42.41 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $646.88 million, a P/E ratio of 70.68 and a beta of 0.89. Equity Bancshares has a 52 week low of $22.78 and a 52 week high of $45.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.81.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Bancshares

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 74.1% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 97.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $322,000. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.