East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen 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 $89.53.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Truist Financial increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total transaction of $590,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,234,045.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,621,111.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total value of $590,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,234,045.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,531,240 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $338,142,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $115,369,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $67,692,000. Boston Partners increased its position in East West Bancorp by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,713,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,279,000 after purchasing an additional 886,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,460,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock opened at $80.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.32. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $49.59 and a 12-month high of $89.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $638.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.61 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.40%. The firm’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.