EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

EQB Inc. (TSE:EQB) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$106.56.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EQB shares. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of EQB from C$105.00 to C$113.00 in a research note on Friday, September 6th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of EQB from C$112.00 to C$109.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Cormark lowered their price objective on shares of EQB from C$121.00 to C$111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of EQB from C$104.00 to C$106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of EQB from C$113.00 to C$109.00 in a research report on Monday, August 19th.

EQB Stock Performance

Shares of EQB stock opened at C$104.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.58. EQB has a fifty-two week low of C$66.41 and a fifty-two week high of C$105.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$98.78 and a 200 day moving average of C$92.29.

EQB (TSE:EQB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported C$2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.93 by C$0.03. The firm had revenue of C$327.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$325.00 million. EQB had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 39.67%. Analysts forecast that EQB will post 12.5963415 EPS for the current year.

EQB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from EQB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. EQB’s payout ratio is currently 20.19%.

About EQB

EQB Inc, through its subsidiary, Equitable Bank, provides personal and commercial banking services to retail and commercial customers in Canada. The company accepts term deposits and guaranteed investment certificates, high interest savings accounts, institutional deposit notes and covered bonds, as well as specialized financing solutions.