Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 137,100 shares, a decrease of 8.4% from the July 31st total of 149,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 36,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
EQBK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Equity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Stephens cut shares of Equity Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, August 7th.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Equity Bancshares news, Director James S. Loving acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.59 per share, for a total transaction of $49,180.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,309.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Equity Bancshares
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQBK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 8.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 72,556 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,344,000 after buying an additional 5,470 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 56.3% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 7,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 680,155 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,976,000 after purchasing an additional 20,950 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 8.5% during the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 28,050 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Equity Bancshares by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 8,584 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. 62.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Equity Bancshares Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:EQBK traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.00. The company had a trading volume of 37,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,447. Equity Bancshares has a 52-week low of $20.50 and a 52-week high of $38.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $400.66 million, a P/E ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 0.79.
Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 20.01% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $46.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.60 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Bancshares will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 30th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 29th. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.66%.
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-backed, commercial lines of credit, working capital, term, equipment financing, acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, real estate construction, homebuilder, agricultural, government guaranteed, and other loan products to national and regional companies, restaurant franchisees, hoteliers, real estate developers, manufacturing and industrial companies, agribusiness companies, and other businesses.