East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Stock Position Reduced by JCSD Capital LLC

JCSD Capital LLC lessened its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. East West Bancorp accounts for about 3.6% of JCSD Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. JCSD Capital LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $4,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Burney Co. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 14.2% in the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 10,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 308.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 18,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,944,000 after purchasing an additional 13,793 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its position in East West Bancorp by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 8,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baxter Bros Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 12,547 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $1,442,905.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 93,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,714,205. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total value of $3,408,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 858,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,530,219.82. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 73,344 shares of company stock worth $8,184,226 in the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $116.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $117.00.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $627.36 million for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 15.55%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 26.46%.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.