Burke & Herbert Financial Services (NASDAQ:BHRB) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Burke & Herbert Financial Services has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, affecting investor sentiment.
• The company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $1.97 EPS and $87.11 million in revenue, indicating strong financial performance.
• Burke & Herbert Financial has authorized a share buyback plan allowing it to repurchase up to $50 million in shares, reflecting management's confidence in its stock valuation.

Burke & Herbert Financial Services (NASDAQ:BHRB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Burke & Herbert Financial Services in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Burke & Herbert Financial Services from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Burke & Herbert Financial Services Stock Down 1.8%

BHRB stock traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.47. 45,096 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 74,613. The stock has a market cap of $907.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Burke & Herbert Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $47.57 and a fifty-two week high of $75.32. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $59.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.82.

Burke & Herbert Financial Services (NASDAQ:BHRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.12. Burke & Herbert Financial Services had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 20.93%. The firm had revenue of $87.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.06 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Burke & Herbert Financial Services will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Burke & Herbert Financial Services declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, April 25th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Burke & Herbert Financial Services

In other news, Director Shawn Patrick Mclaughlin bought 1,000 shares of Burke & Herbert Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.50 per share, with a total value of $56,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,616,000. The trade was a 1.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Samuel Laing Hinson III purchased 4,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $55.00 per share, with a total value of $264,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,848,110. This trade represents a 16.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 6,302 shares of company stock valued at $348,535 over the last 90 days. 10.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burke & Herbert Financial Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BHRB. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Burke & Herbert Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Burke & Herbert Financial Services by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 26,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Burke & Herbert Financial Services by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 5,917 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Burke & Herbert Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Burke & Herbert Financial Services by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 732,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,658,000 after acquiring an additional 22,559 shares in the last quarter.

About Burke & Herbert Financial Services

Burke Herbert Financial Services Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking products and financial services to small to medium-sized businesses, their owners and employees, professional corporations, non-profits, and individuals. It operates through the following loan portfolio segments: Commercial Real Estate, Owner-Occupied Commercial Real Estate, Acquisition, Construction, and Development, Commercial and Industrial, Single Family Residential (1-4 Units), and Consumer Non-Real Estate and Other.