JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Free Report) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 360,457 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 17,431 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 2.36% of Equity Bancshares worth $14,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,213 shares of the bank's stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equity Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $203,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. Triune Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $268,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $282,000. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, October 14th.

Equity Bancshares Trading Down 3.6 %

NASDAQ:EQBK traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.88. 51,959 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 69,510. The stock has a market capitalization of $609.77 million, a P/E ratio of 36.25 and a beta of 0.90. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.44 and a 12 month high of $50.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.32 and a 200 day moving average of $41.52.

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

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Equity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

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.