Analysts Set East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) PT at $138.31

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $140.2308.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Wall Street Zen cut East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, 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, July 6th.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 over the last three months. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Marathon Mission Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $131.00 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $92.67 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The company has a market capitalization of $17.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $791.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

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.