Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

EBC has been the topic of a number of other reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of EBC stock opened at $22.74 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.94. Eastern Bankshares has a 1-year low of $15.95 and a 1-year high of $23.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%.The firm had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.20 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 34.09%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.62, for a total transaction of $236,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 82,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,938,705.98. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,419 shares of company stock worth $312,581. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 87.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 533.3% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at $55,000. 71.68% of the stock is currently 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.