Scientech Research LLC Takes Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC invested $802,000 in East West Bancorp, acquiring 8,935 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors hold 89.53% of East West Bancorp's stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• East West Bancorp reported earnings of $2.28 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and reflecting a 10.3% revenue increase compared to the previous year.

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $802,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EWBC. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 386,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,003,000 after purchasing an additional 4,977 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $447,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $107.99. 632,385 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 751,808. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.41. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month 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 for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $4,135,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 15,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.73, for a total transaction of $1,606,393.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 113,353 shares in the company, valued at $12,098,165.69. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $116.64.

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.