East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $134.6154.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $130.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $17.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.52. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $92.67 and a fifty-two week high of $136.00.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total transaction of $106,552.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 84,698 shares in the company, valued at $11,280,926.62. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 in the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.