Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Price Target Raised to $23.00

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) had its price target increased by TD Cowen from $22.00 to $23.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on EBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, December 5th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday. Barclays began coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.88.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 0.1%

Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $19.44 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.76 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.41. Eastern Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $13.51 and a fifty-two week high of $20.19.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 4.97% and a return on equity of 7.94%. The business had revenue of $162.26 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 208.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert Francis Rivers bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.21 per share, with a total value of $860,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 403,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,940,345.54. The trade was a 14.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 322,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total transaction of $6,142,332.13. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 36,112 shares in the company, valued at $687,211.36. The trade was a 89.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eastern Bankshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EBC. HoldCo Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $79,534,000. Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,293,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth $34,680,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 109,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 29,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $950,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

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.