Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $16.72, but opened at $16.06. Eastern Bankshares shares last traded at $16.06, with a volume of 161,488 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.08). Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 48.38% and a return on equity of 5.06%. The business had revenue of $299.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (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 increased their price target for the company from $14.00 to $18.50 in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total transaction of $211,182.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EBC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 1,383.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 5,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at $85,000. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.89.

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.