Short Interest in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Increases By 12.8%

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,130,000 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the December 15th total of 3,660,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 940,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of EBC stock opened at $17.50 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.75. Eastern Bankshares has a one year low of $12.22 and a one year high of $19.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.94.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $299.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $215.92 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 38.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 20.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Deborah C. Jackson sold 5,713 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.56, for a total value of $106,033.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 67,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,248,791.04. The trade was a 7.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 9.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 291,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,068,000 after acquiring an additional 24,188 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 58.2% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,079,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,065,000 after purchasing an additional 764,881 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 24.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,835,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,599,000 after purchasing an additional 950,150 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 201.0% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 49,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 33,151 shares during the period. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $150,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.