East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given New $150.00 Price Target at Cantor Fitzgerald

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective increased by Cantor Fitzgerald from $137.00 to $150.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on EWBC. Wall Street Zen cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of EWBC opened at $132.41 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $92.67 and a 52 week high of $136.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.48 and a 200-day moving average of $118.64.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. East West Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,207,000 after purchasing an additional 542,149 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.