SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) by 74.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,052 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Equity Bancshares were worth $207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EQBK. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $322,000. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 112.5% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 13,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 97.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,190 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 8.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 75,240 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $364,000. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Bancshares Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EQBK opened at $43.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $657.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.80 and a beta of 0.89. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.78 and a 1-year high of $45.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Bancshares news, 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 transaction of $98,072.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,384.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Leon Borck acquired 1,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.77 per share, with a total value of $56,875.59. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,952.57. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total transaction of $98,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,384.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EQBK shares. Stephens upgraded shares of Equity Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

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.