Brokerages Set Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Target Price at $22.13

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.1250.

EBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,518 shares in the company, valued at $206,064.70. The trade was a 51.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total transaction of $427,458.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,494.60. The trade was a 50.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,018,000 after acquiring an additional 3,407,066 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 64,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 3,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $235,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of EBC stock opened at $19.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.72. Eastern Bankshares has a one year low of $13.51 and a one year high of $22.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.68 and a beta of 0.81.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 8.32%.The business had revenue of $290.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.09 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 126.83%.

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.