Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $21.13 and last traded at $21.1350, with a volume of 721663 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 target price on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.13.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.41 and its 200-day moving average is $17.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.15 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $243.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.09 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 8.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.83%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total transaction of $427,458.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,494.60. The trade was a 50.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 322,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total transaction of $6,142,332.13. Following the transaction, the director owned 36,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $687,211.36. This represents a 89.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EBC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $403,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440,017 shares in the last quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 23.0% during the third quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 6,408,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,272 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,311,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,884,000 after purchasing an additional 992,160 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,732,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,274,000 after purchasing an additional 31,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 48.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,601,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,220,000 after buying an additional 847,891 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.