Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Free Report) by 181.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,100 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 26,500 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.27% of Equity Bancshares worth $1,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 247.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 23,308 shares of the bank's stock valued at $953,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 5.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 360,457 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,735,000 after purchasing an additional 17,431 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 7.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,213 shares of the bank's stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 314,889 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,919,000 after acquiring an additional 8,103 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 39,943 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 24,279 shares during the period. 71.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of EQBK traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.00. 4,153 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,053. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.75 and a 12-month high of $50.85. The company has a market cap of $682.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $39.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.54.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on EQBK. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Equity Bancshares in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Equity Bancshares from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on Equity Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.60.

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.