East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives $129.21 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $129.2143.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research cut East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. UBS Group set a $125.00 target price on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $106.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.46. The stock has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 33.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,237,558.42. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,894.36. The trade was a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 60,221 shares of company stock worth $7,139,287. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.3% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.