East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Key Points

• East West Bancorp beat quarterly expectations: The bank reported earnings of $2.76 per share, $0.04 above consensus, while revenue reached $822.72 million versus the $811.07 million estimate.
• Shares rose during Tuesday trading to $128.27, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $17.57 billion. The stock remains below its 52-week high of $137.47.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: Eleven analysts rate EWBC a Buy and four rate it Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $143.62, despite several recent target-price reductions.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%. The firm had revenue of $822.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.07 million.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC traded up $2.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $128.27. 1,088,612 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 953,586. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50-day moving average price is $128.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.50. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $97.55 and a 1-year high of $137.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $105,624.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,386,021.60. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 11,810 shares of company stock worth $1,564,344 over the last ninety days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Stephens raised 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $152.00 to $146.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $143.62.

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. The bank serves businesses, professionals, consumers and institutions through a range of deposit, lending and financial services.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential and consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, treasury management, international banking, wealth management and foreign-exchange services.

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