Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Short Interest Update

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 18,678,319 shares, an increase of 91.8% from the June 15th total of 9,736,589 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,013,541 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 8.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EBC shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.08.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

EBC opened at $23.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.67. Eastern Bankshares has a 1 year low of $14.88 and a 1 year high of $23.53.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $295.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.68 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 26.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. Sell-side analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other 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 directly owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440,017 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,018,000 after purchasing an additional 3,407,066 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,552,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,048,000 after purchasing an additional 939,740 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,919,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,835,474 shares during the last quarter. 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.