Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Key Points

• Eastern Bankshares reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.38, with revenue reaching $249.10 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.26%, despite a negative payout ratio of -167.74%.
• Institutional investors hold 71.68% of Eastern Bankshares' stock, with significant increases in positions from firms like Jane Street Group and Royal Bank of Canada during the first quarter.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $249.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.32 million. Eastern Bankshares had a negative net margin of 6.49% and a positive return on equity of 7.38%.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 0.4%

EBC stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $15.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,540,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,369,662. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company's fifty day moving average price is $15.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.58 and a beta of 0.94. Eastern Bankshares has a twelve month low of $13.51 and a twelve month high of $19.40.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is presently -167.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eastern Bankshares news, Director Luis Borgen sold 2,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.60, for a total transaction of $36,628.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $452,571.60. The trade was a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 789.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 545,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,948,000 after purchasing an additional 484,277 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 432,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,091,000 after buying an additional 29,781 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 38.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,254,000 after purchasing an additional 54,664 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 114,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 5,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $954,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts.