Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $17.31 and last traded at $17.25, with a volume of 571178 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $18.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $16.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.89.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 48.38% and a return on equity of 5.06%. The company had revenue of $232.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Eastern Bankshares's payout ratio is 15.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total value of $211,182.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EBC. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 44,452 shares of the company's stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 6.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 38,478 shares of the company's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 8.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,866 shares of the company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 0.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 257,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

About Eastern Bankshares

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.