Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Stock

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Eastern Bankshares’ price target to $25 from $23 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 8.34% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall have a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target of $24.86.
• Eastern Bankshares exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.49 in earnings per share versus the $0.46 consensus and revenue of $316 million versus $308.2 million expected.
• The stock traded at $23.07, near its 52-week high of $23.53, while institutional investors held 71.68% of shares. Director Luis Borgen recently sold 1,710 shares, and insider ownership stands at 1.26%.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $23.00 to $25.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.34% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on EBC. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Eastern Bankshares from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:EBC traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $23.07. 1,091,114 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,532,649. The firm's 50-day moving average is $21.18 and its 200-day moving average is $20.46. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Eastern Bankshares has a 1-year low of $14.88 and a 1-year high of $23.53.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%.The company had revenue of $316.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $308.20 million. Equities research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at $464,987.25. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $403,138,000 after buying an additional 2,440,017 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 249.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,810,225 shares of the company's stock worth $33,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,857 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 624,471 shares of the company's stock worth $11,514,000 after acquiring an additional 111,811 shares in the last quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth about $1,153,000. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,275,000 shares of the company's stock worth $23,498,000 after acquiring an additional 275,000 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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