Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $243.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.09 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 4.97%.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of EBC opened at $20.36 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $13.51 and a fifty-two week high of $20.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.92 and a 200 day moving average of $17.67. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.44 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EBC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research raised Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 322,771 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total value of $6,142,332.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 36,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $687,211.36. The trade was a 89.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Francis Rivers bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.21 per share, for a total transaction of $860,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 403,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,940,345.54. This trade represents a 14.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EBC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 48.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,601,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,220,000 after acquiring an additional 847,891 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 63.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,521,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,618,000 after purchasing an additional 590,443 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $17,721,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 42.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 703,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,776,000 after purchasing an additional 208,721 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 42.6% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 651,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,828,000 after purchasing an additional 194,622 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by 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.