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

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $129.2143.

EWBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $125.00 price objective on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $104.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.50. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total transaction of $5,891,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This trade represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,674 shares of company stock valued at $7,988,184. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968,716 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 281.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,271,000 after buying an additional 920,159 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About East West Bancorp

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.