Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens upgraded Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) to a "strong-buy"; the street consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average analyst target of $22.75 (2 Strong Buy, 3 Buy, 3 Hold).
• Eastern beat the latest quarter with $0.44 EPS vs. $0.41 expected and $290.11M revenue vs. $287.09M, while sell-side analysts project about 1.49 EPS for the fiscal year and the stock trades at a PE of 50.56 with a $4.86B market cap.
• Notable insider moves: Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares (cutting his stake ~50%), while CFO R. David Rosato purchased 5,000 shares; insiders collectively own about 1.26% of the company.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Stephens to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

EBC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $22.50 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastern Bankshares currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.75.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 0.2%

Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $20.73 on Wednesday. Eastern Bankshares has a 12-month low of $14.10 and a 12-month high of $22.58. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 50.56 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $20.09 and its 200 day moving average is $19.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $290.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.09 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eastern Bankshares news, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total transaction of $427,458.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $419,494.60. This trade represents a 50.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R David Rosato purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.17 per share, for a total transaction of $95,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $862,650. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eastern Bank increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,547,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,094,000 after purchasing an additional 89,890 shares during the period. HoldCo Asset Management LP increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 6,408,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,272 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,332,000. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $9,298,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,393,923 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,300,000 after purchasing an additional 95,731 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

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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