Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 7,138,635 shares, a decrease of 16.6% from the February 12th total of 8,562,240 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,006,873 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,006,873 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total value of $427,458.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,494.60. This trade represents 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 insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,254,000 after acquiring an additional 54,664 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the first quarter worth about $954,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 114,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 5,028 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 7.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 432,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,091,000 after purchasing an additional 29,781 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 789.9% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 545,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,948,000 after buying an additional 484,277 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC traded up $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $18.99. The company had a trading volume of 582,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,094,881. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.87. Eastern Bankshares has a 12 month low of $13.51 and a 12 month high of $22.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.33 and a beta of 0.81.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $290.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.09 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.25%. Equities research analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Barclays started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.30.

About Eastern Bankshares

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.