Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Price Target Raised to $23.00

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) had its price target raised by Barclays from $22.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens downgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 1.6%

Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $20.86 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.70. Eastern Bankshares has a 12 month low of $16.61 and a 12 month high of $23.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. Analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, insider Donald Westermann sold 23,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.43, for a total transaction of $492,997.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $483,567.95. The trade was a 50.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 1,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.69, for a total transaction of $40,342.82. Following the transaction, the director owned 60,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,368,229.69. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 65,190 shares of company stock valued at $1,452,900. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 32.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc (NASDAQ:EBC) is the holding company for Eastern Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1818, Eastern Bank is one of the oldest and largest mutual bank franchises in the United States before becoming a publicly traded company in 2020.

Eastern Bank provides banking and financial services to businesses, organizations, professionals and individual consumers. Its offerings include commercial and residential lending, business and personal deposit accounts, cash-management and treasury services, consumer banking, mortgage services, wealth management and investment services.

The company primarily serves communities in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire through a network of banking offices and digital banking channels.