Short Interest in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Grows By 19.5%

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,200,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the February 13th total of 4,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ EBC opened at $16.58 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.59 and a 200-day moving average of $17.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75 and a beta of 0.95. Eastern Bankshares has a 52 week low of $12.22 and a 52 week high of $19.40.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 6.02% and a net margin of 11.07%. Equities research analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CFO R David Rosato purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.40 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EBC. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 127.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter worth $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 836.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,555 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 21.1% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.