Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the three research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.83.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. TheStreet raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, October 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $15.00 to $16.50 in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC opened at $11.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Eastern Bankshares has a 12 month low of $9.93 and a 12 month high of $19.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.54. The company has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.28 and a beta of 0.78.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. This is an increase from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -142.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Nancy Huntington Stager sold 18,465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total transaction of $222,872.55. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,485.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 2.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 988,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,300,000 after buying an additional 28,308 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 11.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 3,557 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 5.0% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 57.0% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 95,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 34,560 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 130.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 320,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,896,000 after buying an additional 181,044 shares during the period. 58.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. It operates in two segments, Banking Business and Insurance Agency Business. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts.