East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Raised to $136.00 at Truist Financial

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its target price hoisted by Truist Financial from $128.00 to $136.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.00.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.4%

EWBC traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.54. The company had a trading volume of 798,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,098,681. The company has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $136.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $126.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.28.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.East West Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 10.57 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,647,000 after buying an additional 1,185,781 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,464,000 after buying an additional 633,649 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,207,000 after buying an additional 542,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

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.