East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.4%

East West Bancorp stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $133.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,109,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,046,240. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $92.67 and a 52-week high of $136.24. The stock has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $127.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total value of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 84,698 shares in the company, valued at $11,280,926.62. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in East West Bancorp by 281.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,647,000 after buying an additional 1,185,781 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 633,649 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,207,000 after acquiring an additional 542,149 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,051,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $207,146,000 after acquiring an additional 391,059 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,713,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,619,000 after acquiring an additional 318,303 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 note on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.31.

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.