Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Downgraded by Stephens to “Equal Weight”

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Stephens from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $24.00 target price on the stock. Stephens’ target price suggests a potential upside of 3.90% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on EBC. Hovde Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $23.50) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. DA Davidson increased 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ EBC opened at $23.10 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.67. Eastern Bankshares has a 52 week low of $14.88 and a 52 week high of $23.53.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $316.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $464,987.25. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eastern Bankshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in 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 in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 249.9% during 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% during 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 purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,153,000. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings 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 valued at $23,498,000 after acquiring an additional 275,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

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.