New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 36.6%, now owning 28,152 shares worth approximately $2.53 million.
• East West Bancorp reported $2.28 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 10.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, providing a yield of 2.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 4th.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 36.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,548 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 203.0% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 817,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,361,000 after buying an additional 547,556 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised 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 worth $289,052,000 after buying an additional 437,676 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 10,357.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 367,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,985,000 after purchasing an additional 363,963 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,138,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,876,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $179,688,000 after purchasing an additional 324,410 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

East West Bancorp stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $99.45. 180,533 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,036,805. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.61. The firm has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 28.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. DA Davidson raised their target price 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective 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 raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.15.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total transaction of $4,135,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp 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.