East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.The business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $120.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,803,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,117,476. The company has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.06. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $77.02 and a 1 year 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on EWBC. Barclays reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price objective on East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised East West Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.36.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,807. This trade represents a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,894.36. The trade was a 23.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,221 shares of company stock worth $7,139,287. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 5,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 129.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 37,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,165,000 after buying an additional 20,906 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 10,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,220,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 15,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,778,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.