Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $2.02 Million Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $240,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.2% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $200,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $127.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.67 and a fifty-two week high of $136.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.06. The stock has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total transaction of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 84,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,280,926.62. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% 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. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.38.

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.