Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Price Target Cut to $22.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Barclays from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 10.97% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on EBC. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Hovde Group started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 target price on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.58.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of EBC traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,699,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,139,484. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.32. 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 has a 52 week low of $14.10 and a 52 week high of $22.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.76.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $295.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.68 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 26.28% and a return on equity of 8.60%. On average, analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO R David Rosato acquired 5,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.17 per share, with a total value of $95,850.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $862,650. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total value of $427,458.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,494.60. This represents a 50.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,017 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,407,066 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 10.9% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,389,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,066,000 after acquiring an additional 4,835,474 shares in the last quarter. 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.