Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) Shares Acquired by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) by 26.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,773 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,554 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.14% of Equity Bancshares worth $924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQBK. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $98,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Equity Bancshares by 139.9% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $119,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $160,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Equity Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of EQBK opened at $40.39 on Wednesday. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.24 and a 1-year high of $50.85. The stock has a market cap of $707.47 million, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Equity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Equity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 15.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Julie A. Huber sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.10, for a total value of $156,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 57,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,255,600.80. This trade represents a 6.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Equity Bancshares from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.60.

Equity Bancshares 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.