Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Position 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. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 12,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,086,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% in the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.9% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 516 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $100,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EWBC. Truist Financial lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 928,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 82,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,191,984. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $2.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $99.51. 241,186 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,038,518. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company's 50 day moving average is $100.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.77. The company has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.97. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%. The company had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. East West Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued 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 payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

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.