Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.8571.

EBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stephens cut Eastern Bankshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% during 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 period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,018,000 after buying an additional 3,407,066 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,017 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth about $33,548,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,846,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535,094 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $23.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 174,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,580,157. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.41 and a 200 day moving average of $20.54. Eastern Bankshares has a 12 month low of $14.88 and a 12 month high of $23.75.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%.The business had revenue of $316.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.20 million. Analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. 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 34.09%.

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.