East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $128.1429.

Several analysts recently commented on EWBC shares. Truist Financial set a $121.00 target price on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.2%

EWBC stock opened at $121.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $123.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.65. The stock has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.61%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 120,585 shares of company stock valued at $14,016,504 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 179.9% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.