East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $127.3571.

Several research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. TD Cowen reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $121.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,807. This trade represents a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This trade represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 over the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $118.02 on Monday. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $123.82. The company has a market capitalization of $16.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $111.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.61%.

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.