East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Engineers Gate Manager LP

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its East West Bancorp stake by 91% in the second quarter, selling 294,529 shares and retaining 29,029 shares valued at $3.75 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.53% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.15, above the reported trading price of $129.17.
• East West Bancorp exceeded quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.63 and revenue of $789.98 million, while reporting 12.5% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing a 2.5% yield.

Engineers Gate Manager LP reduced its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 91.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 294,529 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $907,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 199,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,440,000 after buying an additional 17,486 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $319,523,000 after buying an additional 27,402 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $1,387,000. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $1,516,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EWBC. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.15.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 36,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total value of $105,624.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,386,021.60. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 12,610 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,896 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.2%

EWBC opened at $129.17 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $137.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.93. The business's 50 day moving average price is $131.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $784.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.77%.

East West Bancorp Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc NASDAQ: EWBC is the holding company for East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions through its East West Bank subsidiary.

East West Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential mortgage services, wealth management, treasury management, and international banking services. Its products support commercial real estate, commercial and industrial businesses, residential borrowers, and consumers.

The bank has a particular focus on serving communities and businesses connected to the United States and Greater China.

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