Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) Position Lessened by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 95,588 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,494 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Equity Bancshares were worth $4,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Equity Bancshares by 175.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 112,292 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,590,000 after acquiring an additional 71,547 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Equity Bancshares by 7.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,213 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Equity Bancshares by 4.1% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 37,735 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 2.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 314,889 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,919,000 after purchasing an additional 8,103 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Equity Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,809,000. 71.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of EQBK opened at $35.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $628.31 million, a PE ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.99. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.98 and a twelve month high of $50.85.

Equity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQBK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on Equity Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Equity Bancshares in a report on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Equity Bancshares from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

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.