East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Has Average Price Target of $144.38 According to Brokerages

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.77.

Several research firms have weighed in on EWBC. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Stephens raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $129.04 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $98.72 and a twelve month high of $137.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $128.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.29. The company has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $822.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.07 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.75%. East West Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 10.73 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.45%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $105,624.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,386,021.60. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,744,958,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,915,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,470,000 after purchasing an additional 168,029 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $221,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $130,744,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $36,995,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is the parent company of East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. The bank serves businesses, professionals, consumers and institutions through a range of deposit, lending and financial services.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential and consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, treasury management, international banking, wealth management and foreign-exchange services.