Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Receives $22.75 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.75.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EBC. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 price target for the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $20.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Eastern Bankshares has a one year low of $14.10 and a one year high of $22.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.03 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.30.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $295.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.68 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.25%. Analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total value of $427,458.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,860 shares in the company, valued at $419,494.60. This represents a 50.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO R David Rosato acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.17 per share, with a total value of $95,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,650. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 38.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,254,000 after acquiring an additional 54,664 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $954,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 4.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 5,028 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 29,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted 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 valued at $8,948,000 after purchasing an additional 484,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.