Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Price

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

EWBC has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.85.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $126.72 on Monday. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $92.67 and a 1 year high of $137.47. The stock has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.32.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $135,020.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total value of $105,624.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,386,021.60. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,810 shares of company stock worth $1,564,344. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 242.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 57,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,451,000 after purchasing an additional 40,857 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $907,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 199,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,440,000 after buying an additional 17,486 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,523,000 after buying an additional 27,402 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 264,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,046,000 after acquiring an additional 20,264 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: EWBC) is the holding company for East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions through its East West Bank subsidiary.

East West Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential mortgage services, wealth management, treasury management, and international banking services. Its products support commercial real estate, commercial and industrial businesses, residential borrowers, and consumers.

The bank has a particular focus on serving communities and businesses connected to the United States and Greater China.