Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.78 and last traded at $23.6960, with a volume of 296727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EBC. Stephens downgraded shares of 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, July 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.84.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $316.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. 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 other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440,017 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 249.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,810,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,857 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. raised its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 624,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,514,000 after purchasing an additional 111,811 shares during the period. Minerva Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,153,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,447,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,319,000 after purchasing an additional 289,458 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

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.