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

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.9167.

EBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Eastern Bankshares stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.19. 1,506,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,367,827. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Eastern Bankshares has a 12 month low of $14.10 and a 12 month high of $22.58.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $295.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.68 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 26.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. Equities research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is 29.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CFO R David Rosato bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.17 per share, with a total value of $95,850.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,650. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 533.3% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.