Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Jackson Creek Investment Advisors initiated a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter, buying 13,490 shares valued at about $1.52 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their holdings, and 89.53% of East West Bancorp’s stock is now owned by institutions.
• The bank reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.57 beating estimates and revenue rising 11.8% year over year; it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share.

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 13,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,516,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 781,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,826,000 after purchasing an additional 34,815 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 4,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $1,733,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.3%

EWBC stock opened at $124.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.63. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.97 and a 52 week high of $127.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.East West Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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