Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $316.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 26.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of EBC traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.62. 2,539,954 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,530,740. Eastern Bankshares has a 52 week low of $14.88 and a 52 week high of $23.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the sale, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,066,000 after acquiring an additional 4,835,474 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,018,000 after purchasing an additional 3,407,066 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,919,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,385,000 after buying an additional 1,389,304 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter worth $17,721,000. Finally, HoldCo Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 7,382,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,064,000 after buying an additional 974,000 shares in the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on EBC. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Stephens began coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.08.

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.