East West Bancorp's (EWBC) "Overweight" Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an Overweight rating on East West Bancorp with a $133 price target (about a 7.75% upside); MarketBeat's consensus target is $128 with a "Moderate Buy" (11 Buys, 5 Holds).
• The company beat estimates for the quarter with EPS of $2.57 (vs. $2.46 expected) and revenue of $773.8M, up 11.8% year-over-year, and the stock traded up roughly 2.1% to $123.43.
• Insiders sold 60,221 shares worth about $7.14M over the last quarter, leaving insiders with just 1.04% ownership, which may be a cautionary signal for some investors.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating restated by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $133.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.75% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut East West Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised East West Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.00.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.1%

EWBC traded up $2.53 on Wednesday, hitting $123.43. 513,954 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,119,206. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $83.11 and a twelve month high of $124.84. The company has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.90. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.16.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. East West Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,842.68. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,612,807. This trade represents a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 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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