Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Takes Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 502,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,167,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned approximately 0.22% of Eastern Bankshares as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at $11,038,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $717,000. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,717,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,106,000. Finally, Raffles Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,335,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of EBC stock opened at $22.40 on Thursday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.61 and a fifty-two week high of $23.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. Equities research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $464,987.25. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $227,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 62,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,410,434.88. This represents a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,197 shares of company stock valued at $809,724. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Hovde Group raised 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. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.86.

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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