East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives $102.25 Average PT from Analysts

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $102.25.

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $109.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $61.87 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. This trade represents a 12.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 in the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.