DA Davidson Raises Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Price Target to $25.00

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) had its target price raised by equities researchers at DA Davidson from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.38% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday. Stephens assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastern Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.17.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $23.07. 667,541 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,531,249. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.46. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Eastern Bankshares has a 52 week low of $14.88 and a 52 week high of $23.53.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $316.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,066,000 after acquiring an additional 4,835,474 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $253,018,000 after buying an additional 3,407,066 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,138,000 after buying an additional 2,440,017 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,548,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 28.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,846,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535,094 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.