East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Jack Liu Sells 1,421 Shares

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Jack Liu sold 1,421 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $118.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,162,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,177,127. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $119.73. The stock has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.95 and a 200-day moving average of $107.32.

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

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.