East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives $121.33 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $122.1429.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EWBC. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial set a $112.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $4,135,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at $91,833,901.32. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,974 shares in the company, valued at $1,572,270. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% during the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $30,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock opened at $102.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.66.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $627.36 million for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 27.16%. On average, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 28.04%.

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.