East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Price Target Raised at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised East West Bancorp’s price target from $150 to $155 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 17.68% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 11 analysts rate the stock a Buy and four a Hold, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target of $145.15.
• East West Bancorp beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $2.76 versus $2.72 expected and revenue of $822.72 million versus $811.07 million expected; revenue grew 5.8% year over year.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.68% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EWBC. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $152.00 to $146.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $145.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.2%

EWBC opened at $131.71 on Monday. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $98.72 and a one year high of $137.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $128.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.37.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $822.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $811.07 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.75%. The business's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 10.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total value of $105,624.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,386,021.60. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,989.18. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.0% in the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 13.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the second quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.4% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is the holding company for East West Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the bank initially served Chinese American communities in Southern California and has since expanded its services and geographic reach.

East West Bank provides personal and business banking, commercial lending, trade finance, treasury management and other financial services. Its customers include individuals, small and midsize businesses, and larger companies, with a focus on supporting commerce between the United States and Asia.

The bank operates across several U.S.

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