Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target to $85.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $82.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.95% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on EWBC. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.38.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.61. 867,498 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,209,838. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $41.12 and a 1 year high of $79.54. The company has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.41, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.28.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. Equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 65.1% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.