East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) was upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Barclays and Piper Sandler have each raised their price targets on East West Bancorp, with Barclays setting it at $145.00 and Piper Sandler at $104.00, indicating growing confidence in the company's prospects.
• Despite recent insider selling, insider ownership remains at 1.04%, while institutional investors collectively hold 89.53% of the company's stock, demonstrating strong institutional support.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. Cowen started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.33.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $99.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.93. The business's 50-day moving average price is $105.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.95. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95.

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 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $4,135,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,639 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total value of $835,706.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 105,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,565,111.60. This represents a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.0% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 17,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $53,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 13.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.0% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,579,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

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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