Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.1250.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

EBC opened at $21.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.15 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.41 and a 200 day moving average of $17.98. Eastern Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $13.51 and a fifty-two week high of $22.58.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $243.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.09 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 126.83%.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 322,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 36,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $687,211.36. This trade represents a 89.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,494.60. The trade was a 50.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EBC. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth $241,000. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 26,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 11,313 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 427.5% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 26,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 21,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 533.3% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.