East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• East West Bancorp has been upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, with multiple analysts issuing various ratings and price objectives, including a "buy" from Cowen and an "overweight" from Wells Fargo.
• The company's stock recently traded up 1.2%, reaching $106.51, and has shown a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.3%, alongside a reported earnings per share of $2.28.
• Insider selling activity has been observed, with one insider selling over 7,600 shares valued at approximately $835,706, reflecting a minor decrease in their ownership stake.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Cowen began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.53.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.2%

East West Bancorp stock traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.51. 798,052 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,043,987. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $104.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.48. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,639 shares of East West Bancorp 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 105,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,565,111.60. This trade represents a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,572,270. The trade was a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,240 shares of company stock worth $7,379,678 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% during the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $30,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

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.

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