Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 35,857 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 67.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,857 shares during the period. East West Bancorp accounts for approximately 0.5% of Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 145.5% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 163,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,381,000 after acquiring an additional 96,760 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 249.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 13,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 9,363 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 90.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 311,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,428,000 after purchasing an additional 147,792 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,505,000 after purchasing an additional 4,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 2,084.8% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,665,000 after purchasing an additional 50,785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.7%

EWBC stock opened at $121.64 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $123.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $115.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.90, for a total value of $848,896.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 85,714 shares in the company, valued at $9,762,824.60. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 120,585 shares of company stock valued at $14,016,504 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.14.

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.