Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Stock Price

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) had its target price raised by Barclays from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Hovde Group started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 price objective for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastern Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $19.95 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 48.66 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.10. Eastern Bankshares has a 12-month low of $13.79 and a 12-month high of $22.58.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $290.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.09 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 8.32%. As a group, analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total transaction of $216,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,064.70. This trade represents a 51.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total transaction of $427,458.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,494.60. The trade was a 50.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth about $2,634,000. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $241,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,018,000 after buying an additional 3,407,066 shares in the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.