Seaport Res Ptn Has Negative Outlook of EBC FY2024 Earnings

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Eastern Bankshares in a note issued to investors on Sunday, October 27th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst L. Hunsicker now expects that the company will earn $0.99 per share for the year, down from their prior 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.

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

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

EBC stock opened at $16.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.98. Eastern Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $10.65 and a fifty-two week high of $17.49.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a positive change from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 20.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the business’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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 1st quarter valued at $3,804,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter worth $23,849,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 23.8% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,993,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,248,000 after purchasing an additional 576,381 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 171,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 36,743 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 63,717.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 63,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $883,000 after purchasing an additional 63,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

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.