Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Short Interest Down 7.5% in August

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,430,000 shares, a decrease of 7.5% from the August 15th total of 3,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of EBC traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $16.86. 877,264 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,006,934. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.89. Eastern Bankshares has a 1-year low of $10.65 and a 1-year high of $17.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $15.95 and its 200 day moving average is $14.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 5.06% and a net margin of 48.38%. The business had revenue of $232.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.44%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total transaction of $211,182.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,026,000 after purchasing an additional 70,561 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,794,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,885,000 after purchasing an additional 634,133 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,543,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,790,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 47,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 10,670 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $18.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts.