Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target to $85.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $82.00 to $85.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stephens upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Compass Point upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $84.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $77.20 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $41.12 and a 12-month high of $79.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.34. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39.

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

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $249,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in East West Bancorp by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 40,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,212,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 95,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,584,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,353,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.