Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $42.70 and last traded at $42.70, with a volume of 1603 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EQBK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Equity Bancshares from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens upgraded Equity Bancshares from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.25.

Equity Bancshares Stock Up 3.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.45. The company has a market cap of $662.44 million, a PE ratio of 72.38 and a beta of 0.89.

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $55.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.56 million. Equity Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 3.75%. Research analysts anticipate that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Equity Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Equity Bancshares's payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Bancshares

In related news, Director Leon Borck acquired 1,467 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.77 per share, for a total transaction of $56,875.59. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $462,952.57. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Leon Borck purchased 1,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.77 per share, for a total transaction of $56,875.59. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,952.57. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $6,480,384.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,101 shares of company stock valued at $1,351,925. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EQBK. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 74.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 97.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,190 shares of the bank's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 3,541 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $322,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the second quarter worth $322,000. 71.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.