Ruffer LLP Makes New Investment in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 160,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,956,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on EBC. Stephens began coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.75.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ EBC opened at $20.39 on Wednesday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.10 and a 1-year high of $22.58. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.73 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 8.32%.The firm had revenue of $290.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.09 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total transaction of $216,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,064.70. This trade represents a 51.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO R David Rosato purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were 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 directly owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,650. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.