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

Key Points

• Eastern Bankshares received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from nine analysts, with six buys and three holds. The average 12-month price target is $24.86, implying upside from the reported $21.31 share price.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.49 in EPS versus the $0.46 consensus and revenue of $316.01 million versus $308.20 million expected. Analysts anticipate full-year EPS of $1.87.
• Eastern Bankshares declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, or $0.60 annualized, representing a 2.8% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold $1.53 million of stock over the past three months, while institutional investors own 71.68% of shares.

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.8571.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EBC shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $26.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Seaport Research Partners restated a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Hovde Group upped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at $464,987.25. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Donald Westermann sold 23,005 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.43, for a total value of $492,997.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $483,567.95. The trade was a 50.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 68,609 shares of company stock worth $1,529,281 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $498,672,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 28.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,846,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,912,000 after buying an additional 1,535,094 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,427,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,050,000 after acquiring an additional 592,012 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,188,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,479,000. Institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.31. 362,674 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,468,083. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Eastern Bankshares has a 1-year low of $16.61 and a 1-year high of $23.77. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $22.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.03.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) 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 $316.01 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, research analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is 34.09%.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Eastern Bank, a full-service financial institution headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Eastern Bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, nonprofit organizations and municipalities, with a focus on communities in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

The bank offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, small-business banking, cash-management services, digital and mobile banking, wealth management and trust services.

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