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

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $133.6923.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.6%

EWBC opened at $125.94 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $90.79 and a fifty-two week high of $127.51. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $119.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.63. The company has a market capitalization of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 31.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 41,800 shares of company stock worth $5,165,690 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after acquiring an additional 19,178 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.