Seaport Res Ptn Issues Pessimistic Forecast for EBC Earnings

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn cut their FY2024 EPS estimates for Eastern Bankshares in a research report issued on Sunday, October 27th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst L. Hunsicker now forecasts that the company will earn $0.99 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $1.13. The consensus estimate for Eastern Bankshares’ current full-year earnings is $1.11 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Eastern Bankshares’ Q4 2024 earnings at $0.29 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.30 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.32 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.33 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.34 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued 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. raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $16.63 on Wednesday. Eastern Bankshares has a 12-month low of $10.65 and a 12-month high of $17.49. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.97.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $299.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.92 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 48.38% and a return on equity of 5.06%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth approximately $856,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 21.1% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 8.7% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 815,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,367,000 after acquiring an additional 65,540 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,671,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 5,933.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 101,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100,154 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the company’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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.69%.

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.