Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Eastern Bankshares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $23.78 and recently changing hands near $23.70. The stock is up above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, with a $5.42 billion market capitalization.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive but mixed: six analysts rate EBC a Buy and three rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $24.86. Recent targets range from $22 at Barclays to $26 from Piper Sandler and Hovde Group, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the shares to Sell.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.49 in EPS versus a $0.46 consensus estimate and $316.01 million in revenue. Eastern Bankshares also declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.5% yield, though a director recently sold 1,710 shares.

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.78 and last traded at $23.6960, with a volume of 296727 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EBC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Eastern Bankshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays cut their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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, Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.4%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $22.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.84. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 25.12% and a return on equity of 8.71%. The company had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. Equities research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.09%.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $464,987.25. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S raised its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 533.3% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,900 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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