Wall Street Zen Downgrades Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Eastern Bankshares to “sell” from “hold,” contrasting with broader analyst sentiment: six analysts rate the stock a buy and three a hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $24.86 target price.
• Eastern Bankshares shares opened at $23.63, near their 12-month high of $23.75, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.49 and revenue of $316.01 million—both above analyst expectations.
• Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares worth approximately $38,834, while institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on EBC. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated 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 given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $23.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.84. Eastern Bankshares has a 12-month low of $15.71 and a 12-month high of $23.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

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

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source