Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Short Interest Up 12.8% in December

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,130,000 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the December 15th total of 3,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 940,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:EBC traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.50. 944,644 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 842,919. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.71. Eastern Bankshares has a 1 year low of $12.22 and a 1 year high of $19.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.94.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $299.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $215.92 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 38.00%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.69%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, Director Deborah C. Jackson sold 5,713 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.56, for a total transaction of $106,033.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 67,284 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,791.04. The trade was a 7.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Eastern Bankshares by 127.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its position in Eastern Bankshares by 1,155.9% during the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 4,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 3,988 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts.