Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired 12,100 shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC), worth approximately $1,086,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the company on July 28th, reducing his stake by 4.31%, while corporate insiders collectively sold 82,100 shares valued at over $8 million in the last quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%, scheduled for payment on August 15th.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,990,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $765,167,000 after acquiring an additional 107,665 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $289,052,000 after acquiring an additional 437,676 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,876,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $179,688,000 after buying an additional 324,410 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,701,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $152,739,000 after buying an additional 32,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,226,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,414,000 after buying an additional 228,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC stock traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.49. 781,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,045,502. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The firm has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $100.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS 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 business had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.15.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 82,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,191,984. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.