SummitTX Capital L.P. Takes $2.74 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,741,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,967,000 after buying an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185,781 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 633,649 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,207,000 after acquiring an additional 542,149 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711 over the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.23.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $131.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $136.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $128.56 and its 200 day moving average is $119.75.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $791.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

East West Bancorp 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.