Algebris UK Ltd. Buys 111,811 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Algebris UK Ltd. lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 624,471 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 111,811 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd.’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $11,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 533.3% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth about $57,000. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CFO R David Rosato purchased 5,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.17 per share, with a total value of $95,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,650. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $19.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.52. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.10 and a 52 week high of $22.58.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $295.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.68 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 26.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. Sell-side analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned 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 $22.92.

Eastern Bankshares 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.