East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Upgraded to “Buy” at UBS Group

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $125.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.69% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on EWBC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.93.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.9%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $109.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,807. This trade represents a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 32,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,770 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midway Capital Research & Management acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $4,388,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.