EQB (TSE:EQB) Rating Increased to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of EQB (TSE:EQB) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has C$130.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of C$108.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Veritas raised EQB to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Desjardins lifted their price target on EQB from C$107.00 to C$110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of EQB from C$93.00 to C$91.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of EQB from C$96.00 to C$103.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of EQB from C$102.00 to C$105.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EQB presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$105.44.

EQB Stock Performance

Shares of EQB opened at C$106.84 on Tuesday. EQB has a fifty-two week low of C$83.93 and a fifty-two week high of C$114.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$96.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$96.10. The stock has a market cap of C$3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.94.

EQB (TSE:EQB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The company reported C$6.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. EQB had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 8.52%. Equities research analysts predict that EQB will post 12.5988235 EPS for the current year.

EQB Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from EQB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. EQB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.28%.

EQB Company Profile

EQB Inc formerly Equitable Group Inc trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C and serves over 360000 Canadians through its wholly owned subsidiary Equitable Bank Canadas Challenger Bank. Equitable Bank has grown to become the countrys eighth largest independent Schedule I bank with a clear mandate to drive real change in Canadian banking to enrich peoples lives. At Equitable Bank we are as invested in our employees as we are in our business. Thats why we are consistently recognized as one of Canadas Top Employers a rating that comes from our 1300+ employees.