Insider Selling: Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) Insider Sells $19,768.50 in Stock

Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:EQBK) insider Ann Knutson sold 450 shares of Equity Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.93, for a total transaction of $19,768.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,364 shares in the company, valued at $367,430.52. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

Equity Bancshares stock opened at $43.69 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.84. The stock has a market cap of $916.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.11 and a 1-year high of $50.07.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on EQBK. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Equity Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Equity Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Equity Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Equity Bancshares from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Equity Bancshares by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,930,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,216,000 after acquiring an additional 44,681 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its position in Equity Bancshares by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,222,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,768,000 after acquiring an additional 96,695 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. purchased a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $49,541,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Equity Bancshares by 2.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 921,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,518,000 after purchasing an additional 22,233 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Equity Bancshares by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 761,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,974,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765 shares in the last quarter. 71.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equity Bancshares

Equity Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Equity Bank, a regional financial services provider headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. As a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker EQBK, Equity Bancshares operates a network of branches and lending offices across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois and Colorado. Its geographic footprint spans both urban and rural markets, reflecting a focus on supporting small businesses, agricultural enterprises and individual consumers throughout the Midwest.

The company’s core business activities encompass a full spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services.