East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

EWBC has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Truist Financial increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.62.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $129.30 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $136.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 10.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711 in the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $1,530,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $2,356,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537 shares during the period. 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. 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. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $1,044,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.