Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

EBC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.88.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC traded up $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.51. The stock had a trading volume of 77,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,524,956. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Eastern Bankshares has a 1-year low of $13.51 and a 1-year high of $20.19. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 77.90 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.52.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.03). Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 4.97% and a return on equity of 7.94%. The business had revenue of $244.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.03 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 208.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 322,771 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total value of $6,142,332.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $687,211.36. The trade was a 89.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R David Rosato bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.08 per share, with a total value of $170,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $512,400. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HoldCo Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter valued at $79,534,000. Fourthstone LLC purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,293,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,680,000. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,547,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,094,000 after purchasing an additional 89,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $950,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Eastern Bank, one of the oldest and largest mutual banks in the United States. Founded in 1818 as Salem Savings Bank and later rebranded as Eastern Bank in 1989, the company preserved its mutual ownership structure for more than two centuries. In March 2020, it completed an initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker EBC, while continuing to emphasize its community-focused heritage.

Through its primary subsidiary, Eastern Bank, the company delivers a broad range of commercial and consumer banking products.