Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Short Interest Up 19.5% in February

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

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock traded up $0.19 on Wednesday, reaching $16.57. 903,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 977,152. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.60 and its 200-day moving average is $17.35. Eastern Bankshares has a one year low of $12.22 and a one year high of $19.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73 and a beta of 0.95.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 6.02%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

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 $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is 71.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CFO R David Rosato bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.40 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,000. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GTS Securities LLC bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 402,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,945,000 after acquiring an additional 86,041 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,791,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,903,000 after acquiring an additional 60,826 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 54,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 17,882 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 203.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 900,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,533,000 after acquiring an additional 603,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

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.