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

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of 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 volume of 1,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.86. The stock had a trading volume of 877,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,006,934. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.89. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.25. Eastern Bankshares has a 12-month low of $10.65 and a 12-month high of $17.26.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its 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 return on equity of 5.06% and a net margin of 48.38%. The company had revenue of $232.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $85,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the first quarter worth about $126,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $134,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $150,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $18.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

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.