Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Eastern Bankshares, with six buy ratings and three holds. The average 12-month price target is $24.86, above the reported share price of $22.82.
• Eastern Bankshares exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.49 in EPS versus the $0.46 estimate and revenue of $316.01 million versus the $308.20 million consensus.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.60 payout and a 2.6% yield. Institutional investors own 71.68% of the stock, while insiders have sold 13,419 shares over the past 90 days.

Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.8571.

EBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hovde Group boosted their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Stephens cut shares of Eastern Bankshares from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.62, for a total value of $236,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 82,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,938,705.98. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction on 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 represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,419 shares of company stock valued at $312,581. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $498,672,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 2,062.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,790,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,776,000 after purchasing an additional 5,522,534 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,835,474 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company's stock worth $253,018,000 after purchasing an additional 3,407,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company's stock worth $403,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,017 shares in the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ EBC traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $22.82. 89,860 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,529,954. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $22.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.94. Eastern Bankshares has a one year low of $16.50 and a one year high of $23.77. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 0.68.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 25.12% and a return on equity of 8.71%. On average, analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

About Eastern Bankshares

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.

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