Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.15 Per Share

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share on Monday, June 22nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a 15.4% increase from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13.

Eastern Bankshares has a payout ratio of 27.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Eastern Bankshares to earn $2.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.9%.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of EBC traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $19.79. The stock had a trading volume of 3,399,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,088,252. Eastern Bankshares has a 12 month low of $14.10 and a 12 month high of $22.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.20 and a beta of 0.76.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 8.32%.The firm had revenue of $295.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.68 million. Equities research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Hovde Group started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.75.

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.