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

Key Points

• East West Bancorp has been rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus formed from seventeen ratings firms, where twelve analysts recommended buying the stock.
• Recent analyst reports have seen price target increases, including Citigroup raising it from $124.00 to $134.00, further solidifying positive sentiment around the stock.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 2.5% and indicates a healthy dividend payout ratio of 28.04%.

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $121.3333.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Cowen started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. DA Davidson increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of EWBC opened at $95.98 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.44. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The company has a market capitalization of $13.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%.The firm had revenue of $627.36 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,660.45. This trade represents a 34.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,270. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 155.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,714,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $692,468,000 after acquiring an additional 4,696,157 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $174,431,000. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $137,390,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $83,330,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $327,271,000 after purchasing an additional 920,159 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.

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