Ieq Capital LLC Takes Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC acquired 95,834 shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter, valued at approximately $12.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.53% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.92. Barclays raised its target to $155, while other firms made smaller target increases or maintained Hold/Equal Weight ratings.
• East West Bancorp exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.63 EPS and $789.98 million in revenue, up 12.5% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing a 2.5% annualized yield.

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 95,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,371,000. Ieq Capital LLC owned about 0.07% of East West Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marathon Mission Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the second quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $135,020.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,850,989.18. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 33,511 shares of company stock worth $4,312,741 in the last quarter. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Barclays increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.92.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $129.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.67 and a 1 year high of $137.47. The company has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $131.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

East West Bancorp 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.

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