Brokerages Set Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Price Target at $22.13

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.1250.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EBC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research raised Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ EBC opened at $18.99 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.78. Eastern Bankshares has a 52-week low of $13.51 and a 52-week high of $22.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.32 and a beta of 0.81.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $290.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.09 million. Analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 126.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $206,064.70. The trade was a 51.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total transaction of $427,458.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,494.60. The trade was a 50.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,138,000 after buying an additional 2,440,017 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,018,000 after acquiring an additional 3,407,066 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,552,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,048,000 after acquiring an additional 939,740 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,919,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,835,474 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.