Twinbeech Capital LP Takes Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,766,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,849,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.85.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $90.33. 434,552 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 921,423. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50 day moving average is $85.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 928,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 102,281 shares of company stock valued at $9,473,478 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.