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

Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.1250.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, December 5th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $21.52 on Thursday. Eastern Bankshares has a 12 month low of $13.51 and a 12 month high of $22.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.69 and a 200-day moving average of $18.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.49 and a beta of 0.81.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $243.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.09 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.62%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.83%.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total transaction of $427,458.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,494.60. This represents a 50.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 322,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total value of $6,142,332.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 36,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $687,211.36. This trade represents a 89.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 354,027 shares of company stock worth $6,786,290. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at $925,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 173,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,203,000 after buying an additional 22,164 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 126.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 57,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,057,000 after buying an additional 32,007 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 58.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 240,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,433,000 after acquiring an additional 88,422 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.