Foundry Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK)

Foundry Partners LLC boosted its position in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Free Report) by 13.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,525 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 14,540 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC owned 0.78% of Equity Bancshares worth $4,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 24,210 shares of the bank's stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 3,067 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,396 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 3,752 shares in the last quarter. Triune Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $268,000. Sippican Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 24.4% during the third quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 17,667 shares of the bank's stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 3,462 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equity Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.80% of the company's stock.

Equity Bancshares Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of EQBK traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.09. The company had a trading volume of 42,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,404. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.92 and a 52-week high of $49.19. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $42.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.66. The firm has a market cap of $750.59 million, a P/E ratio of 44.16 and a beta of 0.89.

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.32. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 6.36%. The company had revenue of $55.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.77 million. On average, research analysts predict that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a positive change from Equity Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQBK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens upgraded Equity Bancshares from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leon Borck bought 1,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.77 per share, with a total value of $56,875.59. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,952.57. This represents a 14.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

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.