East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $89.89 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $96.15 and its 200 day moving average is $94.88. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 922.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,274,000 after buying an additional 40,267 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $562,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 486,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,618,000 after purchasing an additional 51,052 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.