East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from “sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with 10 Buy ratings and five Holds and an average price target of $140.23.
• East West Bancorp reported a quarterly earnings beat, posting $2.63 EPS versus the $2.61 estimate and $791.14 million in revenue, up 12.5% year over year.
• Shares opened at $131.00, near their 52-week high, while insiders sold approximately $6.56 million of stock over the past 90 days; institutional investors own 89.53% of the company.

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

A number of other research firms have also commented on EWBC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Ten 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.23.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $131.00 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $92.67 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $17.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The business had revenue of $791.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares in the company, valued at $11,093,742. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $6,558,721. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,981,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $559,822,000 after purchasing an additional 106,998 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,620,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,329,000 after purchasing an additional 306,916 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,713,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $423,619,000 after purchasing an additional 318,303 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

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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