Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Eastern Bankshares, Inc.’s common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol EBC. As of February 22, 2024, there were 7,930 common shareholders of record based on information provided by our transfer agent. The number of record-holders may not reflect the number of persons or entities holding stock in nominee name through banks, brokerage firms and other nominees.
Comparative Stock Performance Graph
The stock performance graph below and associated table compare the cumulative total shareholder return of our common stock from October 15, 2020 to December 31, 2023 to the cumulative total return of the Russell 2000 Index and the KBW Regional Banking Index. The lines in the graph and the numbers in the table below represent quarterly index levels derived from the compounded daily returns that include reinvestment or retention of all dividends. If the quarterly interval, based on the last day of a quarter, was not a trading day, the preceding trading day was used. The index value for all of the series was set to $100.00 on October 15, 2020 (which assumes that $100.00 was invested in each of the series on October 15, 2020).
The following information in this Item 5 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is not deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Exchange Act or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act and will not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference into such a filing. The stock price performance shown on the stock performance graph and associated table below is not necessarily indicative of future price performance. Information used in the graph and table was obtained from a third party provider, a source believed to be reliable, but we are not responsible for any errors or omission in such information.
50
Period Ending
Index 10/15/2020 12/31/2020 03/31/2021 06/30/2021 9/30/2021 12/31/2021 3/31/2022
Eastern Bankshares, Inc. 100.00 134.24 159.29 170.48 168.94 168.53 180.81
Russell 2000 100.00 120.82 136.16 142.00 135.81 138.72 128.28
KBW Regional Banks 100.00 134.82 174.87 172.39 177.93 184.23 180.21
Index 6/30/2022 9/30/2022 12/31/2022 3/31/2023 6/30/2023 9/30/2023 12/31/2023
Eastern Bankshares, Inc. 155.75 166.55 147.04 108.26 106.19 109.33 124.94
Russell 2000 106.22 103.90 110.37 113.39 119.29 113.18 129.05
KBW Regional Banks 158.61 164.85 171.46 140.67 132.59 135.75 170.78
Source: Zacks Investment Research, Inc. © 1980-2024
Dividends
We intend to continue to pay regular cash dividends to holders of our common stock; however, any future determination to declare and pay cash dividends will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on a variety of factors, including applicable laws, our financial condition, results of operations, business prospects, general business or financial market conditions, regulatory environment and other factors our Board of Directors may deem relevant. To the extent dividends from Eastern Bank will be a source of cash used by the Company to pay its dividends, dividends from the Bank will be dependent on the Bank’s future earnings, capital requirements, and financial condition.
Repurchases of Common Shares
On September 7, 2022, we announced receipt of a notice of non-objection from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for a new share repurchase program. The program authorized the purchase of up to 8,900,000 shares over a 12-month period and was limited to $200.0 million through August 31, 2023. The program expired in August 2023. We made no repurchases of shares during the year ended December 31, 2023.
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]
51