East West Bancorp, Inc. (EWBC) – What Are Researchers Saying About This Stock?

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.08.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $125.53 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.22 and its 200 day moving average is $125.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.98. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $137.47.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.24 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 10.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,850,989.18. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 11,810 shares of company stock worth $1,564,344 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is the parent company of East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the bank serves consumers, businesses, institutions and nonprofit organizations through a range of banking and financial services.

East West Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and residential real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, trade finance, treasury management, wealth management and other personal and business banking products.