Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Six of nine analysts recommend buying Eastern Bankshares, while three rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is $24.86, above the reported share price of $20.97.
• Recent performance exceeded expectations: Eastern Bankshares reported quarterly earnings of $0.49 per share versus the $0.46 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $316.01 million compared with expectations of $308.20 million.
• Institutional ownership is substantial, but insiders have been selling: Institutional investors own 71.68% of the company, including increased positions from State Street and Jennison Associates. Insiders sold 65,190 shares worth approximately $1.45 million over the past three months.

Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities 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 target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.86.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens lowered shares of Eastern Bankshares from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $227,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 62,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,410,434.88. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Donald Westermann sold 23,005 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.43, for a total transaction of $492,997.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at $483,567.95. This trade represents a 50.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 65,190 shares of company stock worth $1,452,900 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at about $498,672,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,124,657 shares of the company's stock worth $269,652,000 after acquiring an additional 3,603,128 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of 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. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter valued at $38,188,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth $37,479,000. Institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ EBC traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $20.97. 122,131 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,485,606. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.06 and a 200-day moving average of $21.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.70. Eastern Bankshares has a one year low of $16.61 and a one year high of $23.77.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 25.12% and a return on equity of 8.71%. The business had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Eastern Bankshares's payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc NASDAQ: EBC is the holding company for Eastern Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1818, Eastern Bank is one of the oldest and largest mutual bank franchises in the United States before becoming a publicly traded company in 2020.

Eastern Bank provides banking and financial services to businesses, organizations, professionals and individual consumers. Its offerings include commercial and residential lending, business and personal deposit accounts, cash-management and treasury services, consumer banking, mortgage services, wealth management and investment services.

The company primarily serves communities in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire through a network of banking offices and digital banking channels.

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