Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Price

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective cut by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $141.00 to $128.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.08% from the stock’s previous close.

EWBC has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 target price on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.29.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $109.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.36. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $123.82. 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 (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total transaction of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,842.68. This represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 transaction of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $31,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.