Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Buys Shares of 15,249 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,968,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,131,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $504,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $7,358,000. Man Group plc bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $8,917,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,939,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,511 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,741 over the last ninety days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $130.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $17.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $137.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.92.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWBC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source