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

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price target boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $82.00 to $85.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an overweight rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

EWBC stock opened at $75.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.84 and its 200 day moving average is $68.57. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $41.12 and a one year high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. CWM LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 22.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 727,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,348,000 after buying an additional 3,302 shares in the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.2% during the third quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,445,000 after buying an additional 4,795 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $765,000. 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.