Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $20.51, but opened at $19.71. Eastern Bankshares shares last traded at $19.6450, with a volume of 1,706,073 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $295.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.68 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 26.28%.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 126.83%.

More Eastern Bankshares News

Here are the key news stories impacting Eastern Bankshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EBC raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 (a 15.4% increase), implying about a 3.0% yield and an ex-dividend date of June 5, supporting income-focused investors and signaling confidence in capital positions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 2026 earnings call transcript is available for deeper color on loan growth, margins, credit trends and management’s outlook — useful for investors parsing whether the miss is transitory. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst write-ups (Zacks) provide metric-level comparisons to estimates and year-ago results that can help identify where revenue/earnings underperformance occurred versus expectations. Zacks Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data for April is inconsistent (shows 0 shares and NaN change), so there’s no clear signal from short sellers; treat that entry as unreliable until clarified by a bona fide short-interest report.
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings and revenue missed consensus: Q1 EPS $0.40 vs. $0.44 expected and revenue $295.9M vs. ~$308.7M expected. The miss is the main driver of near-term share weakness as investors reassess growth and margin drivers. Press Release / Slide Deck Zacks Earnings Recap

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total transaction of $427,458.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,494.60. This trade represents a 50.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO R David Rosato purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.17 per share, for a total transaction of $95,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 27,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 0.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 179,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,739,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 6.0% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.95 and a 200-day moving average of $19.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.76.

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.