Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.1250.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ EBC traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $19.65. 361,050 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,223. Eastern Bankshares has a twelve month low of $13.51 and a twelve month high of $22.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.86 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.66. 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 (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 8.32%.The company had revenue of $243.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.09 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 126.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total transaction of $216,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,064.70. This represents a 51.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total transaction of $427,458.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,494.60. The trade was a 50.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 27,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 179,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,739,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

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.