East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $115.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.85.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $90.33. 434,552 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 921,423. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $85.38 and a 200 day moving average of $94.30. The company has a market cap of $12.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. 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 has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 928,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 102,281 shares of company stock worth $9,473,478 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,687,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.