EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$122.80.

Several research firms have recently commented on EQB. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on EQB from C$153.00 to C$147.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Desjardins cut their price objective on shares of EQB from C$130.00 to C$126.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of EQB from C$109.00 to C$117.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of EQB from C$112.00 to C$121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a C$129.00 price target on shares of EQB and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

EQB Price Performance

EQB stock traded up C$1.36 during trading on Friday, reaching C$90.13. 14,961 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 78,721. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is C$100.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$103.89. The company has a market capitalization of C$3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.59. EQB has a 52-week low of C$78.24 and a 52-week high of C$114.22.

EQB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from EQB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. EQB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.31%.

EQB Company Profile

EQB Inc formerly Equitable Group Inc trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C and serves over 360000 Canadians through its wholly owned subsidiary Equitable Bank Canadas Challenger Bank. Equitable Bank has grown to become the countrys eighth largest independent Schedule I bank with a clear mandate to drive real change in Canadian banking to enrich peoples lives.