East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on EWBC. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.46.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $97.19 on Monday. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $51.40 and a 52 week high of $98.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.29.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,486,343.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,509.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth $3,961,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $3,832,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 197.8% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,535 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth $909,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $852,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.