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

Key Points

• East West Bancorp has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on 15 covering firms: 10 rate it a buy and 5 a hold. The average 1-year price target is about $134.38.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.57 EPS versus the expected $2.46, while revenue came in at $773.75 million, ahead of forecasts. Revenue also rose 11.8% year over year.
• East West Bancorp recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 2.5%. Insider selling was also noted, including recent share sales by two executives and a total of 54,311 shares sold over the last 90 days.

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $134.3846.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $129.56 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $136.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $124.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 85,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,093,742. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711 in the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $180,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185,781 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $143,207,000 after acquiring an additional 542,149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.

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