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

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $133.6923.

Several research firms have commented on EWBC. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $120.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.15. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $88.97 and a 1-year high of $127.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 10.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,800 shares of company stock valued at $5,165,690. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $1,530,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 108.8% in the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 22,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 5.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,101,000 after purchasing an additional 18,696 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 10.9% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,879,000 after purchasing an additional 334,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 3,842.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 14,411 shares in the last quarter. 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.