Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Stephens

Stephens downgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. Stephens currently has $24.00 price target on the stock.

EBC has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ EBC opened at $23.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.57. Eastern Bankshares has a twelve month low of $14.88 and a twelve month high of $23.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

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

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 bought and sold shares of EBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 87.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 533.3% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 71.68% of the stock is 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.