East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Raised to $88.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $86.00 to $88.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

EWBC has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $83.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $76.44. 562,800 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,267,930. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $41.12 and a 52 week high of $79.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.11% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The company had revenue of $654.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.89%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $836,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 77,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,308,000 after acquiring an additional 5,821 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 221.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,803,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,090,792,000 after acquiring an additional 86,848 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% 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.