East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Price Target Lowered at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald lowered East West Bancorp’s price target from $152 to $146 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying 16.75% potential upside from the stock’s $125.05 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $143.62; 11 analysts rate the stock a Buy and four rate it a Hold.
• East West Bancorp recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.63 EPS and $789.98 million in revenue, up 12.5% year over year. Insiders have sold 11,810 shares worth approximately $1.56 million over the past three months.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $152.00 to $146.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective points to a potential upside of 16.75% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Truist Financial cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, 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, September 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.62.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $125.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $128.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.92. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $92.67 and a fifty-two week high of $137.47. 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 (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.24 EPS. East West Bancorp's revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 10.64 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,810 shares of company stock worth $1,564,344. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 31.7% in the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 7,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7,433.6% in the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,139,000 after buying an additional 9,069 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 19,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,451,000 after buying an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $316,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,966 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,683 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is the parent company of East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the bank serves consumers, businesses, institutions and nonprofit organizations through a range of banking and financial services.

East West Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and residential real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, trade finance, treasury management, wealth management and other personal and business banking products.

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