East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Lowered to $152.00 at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered East West Bancorp’s price target from $156 to $152 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying 18.6% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $144.54.
• East West Bancorp exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.63 in earnings per share and $789.98 million in revenue; revenue increased 12.5% year over year.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by Citigroup from $156.00 to $152.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Citigroup's price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.60% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on EWBC. TD Cowen upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Stephens upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.54.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.3%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $128.16 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $92.67 and a 52 week high of $137.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.East West Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 11,810 shares of company stock worth $1,564,344 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $1,744,958,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $199,529,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $221,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $130,744,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $36,995,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc NASDAQ: EWBC is the holding company for East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions through its East West Bank subsidiary.

East West Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential mortgage services, wealth management, treasury management, and international banking services. Its products support commercial real estate, commercial and industrial businesses, residential borrowers, and consumers.

The bank has a particular focus on serving communities and businesses connected to the United States and Greater China.

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