Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Trading Down 4.9% After Earnings Miss

Key Points

• Earnings Miss: Eastern Bankshares reported a disappointing earnings per share of $0.32 and saw its share price drop 4.9% to $17.47 following the announcement.
• Dividend Announcement: The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.0%, and a payout ratio of -167.74%.
• Analyst Ratings: The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with price targets ranging from $21.50 to $23.00, though there are mixed ratings from analysts.

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 4.9% during mid-day trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $17.45 and last traded at $17.47. 3,616,471 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 121% from the average session volume of 1,639,807 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.36.

The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter. Eastern Bankshares had a positive return on equity of 7.35% and a negative net margin of 6.49%.The company had revenue of $162.26 million for the quarter.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -167.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EBC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.50.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, President Quincy Lee Miller acquired 13,706 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.07 per share, for a total transaction of $233,961.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 13,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $233,961.42. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,770,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,240,000 after buying an additional 93,157 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 15.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,019,676 shares of the company's stock worth $131,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,206 shares in the last quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter worth approximately $79,534,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,732,472 shares of the company's stock worth $72,274,000 after purchasing an additional 31,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 12.7% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,180,377 shares of the company's stock worth $68,558,000 after purchasing an additional 469,743 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of -56.29 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.61 and a 200 day moving average of $16.06.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

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.

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