East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• East West Bancorp has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Cantor Fitzgerald, indicating strong confidence in the stock's future performance.
• Wells Fargo & Company has increased their target price for East West Bancorp from $100 to $125, while Barclays set a higher target of $135.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a 10.3% year-over-year revenue increase with earnings per share of $2.28, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in a report published on Tuesday, September 9th, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $124.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock.

EWBC has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.64.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of EWBC traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.50. 266,216 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,006,684. The company has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.04%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 15,051 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.73, for a total transaction of $1,606,393.23. Following the transaction, the insider owned 113,353 shares in the company, valued at $12,098,165.69. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,660.45. The trade was a 34.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,240 shares of company stock worth $7,379,678 over the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.9% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 25.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.9% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 4,271 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 470.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth $639,000. 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.