CSM Advisors LLC Takes $4.71 Million Position in Equity Bancshares, Inc. $EQBK

CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 115,560 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,713,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equity Bancshares during the first quarter valued at $39,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 311.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the bank’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Equity Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $145,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $154,000. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $217,000. 71.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQBK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Equity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Equity Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equity Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.40.

Equity Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EQBK opened at $41.16 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $790.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.11 and a 200 day moving average of $40.23. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.11 and a 52 week high of $50.85.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This is an increase from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 60.00%.

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.