East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is positive: Fifteen brokerages give East West Bancorp a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, including 10 buys and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $144.15, above the reported share price of $128.28.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: The bank reported earnings of $2.63 per share versus the $2.61 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $789.98 million, up 12.5% year over year and ahead of forecasts.
• Shareholders received a dividend: East West Bancorp paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, equivalent to $3.20 annually and a 2.5% yield; institutional investors own approximately 89.5% of the stock.

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $144.1538.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. Barclays increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $128.28 on Thursday. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $137.47. The company has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.93. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $131.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $135,020.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,989.18. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,300 shares of company stock valued at $1,631,522. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Marathon Mission Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the 2nd 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. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $383,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

About East West Bancorp

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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