East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Increased to $86.00 by Analysts at Stephens

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price target boosted by Stephens from $85.00 to $86.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $106.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $84.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC opened at $77.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.34. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $41.12 and a 1-year high of $79.54. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 40,757.7% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 103,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,437,000 after purchasing an additional 103,117 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 31,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 48,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,560,000 after acquiring an additional 23,361 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,243,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $803,502,000 after buying an additional 215,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 279,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,715,000 after buying an additional 30,466 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.