East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.0769.

A number of analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $139.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total transaction of $1,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,551,820. The trade was a 18.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total transaction of $159,189.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,556 shares in the company, valued at $791,339.88. The trade was a 16.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,466,199. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 38.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,807,000 after buying an additional 2,968,716 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,819,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,650,000 after acquiring an additional 86,171 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,313,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,210,000 after acquiring an additional 19,539 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,005,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,525,000 after acquiring an additional 46,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 633,649 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.0%

EWBC stock opened at $110.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $111.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $103.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.56.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 27.16%.The company had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.46%.

About East West Bancorp

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.