TD Cowen Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Stock

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) had its target price upped by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $22.00 to $23.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.37% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on EBC. Zacks Research downgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.88.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $19.43 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.50 and a 200-day moving average of $17.38. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.72 and a beta of 0.81. Eastern Bankshares has a 1 year low of $13.51 and a 1 year high of $20.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 4.97% and a return on equity of 7.94%. The firm had revenue of $162.26 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO R David Rosato purchased 10,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.08 per share, for a total transaction of $170,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $512,400. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert Francis Rivers purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.21 per share, with a total value of $860,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 403,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,940,345.54. This represents a 14.15% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 8,112.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,947 shares in the last quarter. Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 90.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

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.