East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Raised to $116.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $100.00 to $116.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

EWBC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $108.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded up $2.64 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $107.45. 832,872 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 931,593. The company has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.93. The business's 50-day moving average price is $92.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.64%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $89,517,319.02. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.1% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,594,000 after acquiring an additional 16,991 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,187,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $23,068,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in East West Bancorp by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 62,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during 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.