NFJ Investment Group LLC Makes New $6.93 Million Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 53,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,931,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in East West Bancorp by 34.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 19,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.92.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $129.89 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.91. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.67 and a 52 week high of $137.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,219.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,093,742. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,511 shares of company stock valued at $4,312,741. Insiders own 0.94% 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.