Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Downgraded by Stephens to “Equal Weight”

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Stephens from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.90% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on EBC. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC opened at $23.10 on Tuesday. Eastern Bankshares has a twelve month low of $14.88 and a twelve month high of $23.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.26 and its 200 day moving average is $20.49.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $316.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 25.12% and a return on equity of 8.71%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 38.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,254,000 after purchasing an additional 54,664 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $954,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 114,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after buying an additional 5,028 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 432,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,091,000 after acquiring an additional 29,781 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 789.9% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 545,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,948,000 after acquiring an additional 484,277 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

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.