JCSD Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

JCSD Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. East West Bancorp accounts for 4.0% of JCSD Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. JCSD Capital LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,744,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $199,529,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $221,652,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $129.44 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $137.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The firm had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 84,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,280,926.62. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,511 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,741 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.92.

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.