Davis Investment Partners LLC Invests $655,000 in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Davis Investment Partners LLC has acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, purchasing 6,247 shares valued at approximately $655,000.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their positions in East West Bancorp, with Wellington Management Group boosting their stake by 6,571.1% during the first quarter.
• East West Bancorp reported earnings of $2.28 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 10.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Davis Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $655,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 5,654 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 35.9% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 470.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $639,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.5%

East West Bancorp stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $109.16. The stock had a trading volume of 412,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,006,677. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.64 and a 200 day moving average of $95.02. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The firm has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The company had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. East West Bancorp's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total transaction of $4,135,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. The trade was a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,974 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.64.

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.