East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Lowered to $142.00 at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays lowered its price target on East West Bancorp to $142 (from $150) but kept an "overweight" rating, implying about a 28.9% upside from the current share price.
• East West beat expectations in its latest quarter with EPS of $2.52 vs. $2.48 forecast and revenue of $753.8M vs. $745.0M, showing continued profitability and strong margins.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares and EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000, with insiders offloading 60,221 shares (~$7.14M) over the quarter; insiders now own 1.04% of the stock.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Barclays from $150.00 to $142.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Barclays's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 28.87% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on EWBC. Zacks Research lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.36.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of EWBC traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $110.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 280,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,009. The company's fifty day moving average price is $111.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.39. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $123.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $15.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. On average, analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total transaction of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,842.68. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $274,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 282.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $290,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About East West Bancorp

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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