East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives $112.85 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $112.85.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EWBC shares. Morgan Stanley cut East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $106.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 830,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,354. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $96.04 and a 200-day moving average of $92.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 25.73%. On average, equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 928,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Invesco Ltd. raised 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 worth $692,468,000 after purchasing an additional 4,696,157 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $166,590,000. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $137,390,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $83,330,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 203.0% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 817,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $73,361,000 after acquiring an additional 547,556 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.