East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $134.3846.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EWBC. Truist Financial lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $129.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $17.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.13. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $92.67 and a 1-year high of $136.00.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders 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

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,981,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $559,822,000 after purchasing an additional 106,998 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,620,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,329,000 after purchasing an additional 306,916 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised 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, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,713,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,619,000 after purchasing an additional 318,303 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.