Key Points
- CFO R. David Rosato bought 5,000 shares on March 5 at $19.17 each (a $95,850 purchase), increasing his ownership to 45,000 shares — a 12.5% rise — per an SEC filing.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share (annualized $0.52) with an ex-dividend date of March 6 and payable March 20, implying a 2.7% yield but a high dividend payout ratio of 126.83%.
- Eastern Bankshares reported Q4 EPS beat of $0.44 versus $0.41 expected and revenue of $290.11M (vs. $287.09M), and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $22.13.
Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) CFO R David Rosato bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.17 per share, for a total transaction of $95,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $862,650. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.
Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 0.1%
NASDAQ EBC opened at $18.98 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.81. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.51 and a 12 month high of $22.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.29 and a beta of 0.81.
Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $290.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.09 million. On average, analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.83%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during 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 during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,018,000 after acquiring an additional 3,407,066 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,552,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,048,000 after acquiring an additional 939,740 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,919,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,304 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company's stock worth $137,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,835,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have issued reports on EBC. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Hovde Group started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $22.50 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.13.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on EBC
Eastern Bankshares Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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