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

Key Points

• Analysts assign East West Bancorp a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from 16 firms (11 buy, 5 hold) with an average 1‑year price target of about $132.36.
• The company beat Q1 expectations (EPS $2.57 vs. $2.46; revenue $773.8M vs. $767.8M), with revenue up 11.8%, a 29.6% net margin and 16.0% ROE, and it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 ($3.20 annual, 2.6% yield).
• Insiders have trimmed positions recently—CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares (~$3.7M) and a director sold 1,800 shares—leaving insiders with about 0.94% ownership.

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $132.3571.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $121.93 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $112.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.71. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $88.26 and a 52-week high of $127.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 10.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 31.97%.

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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