East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) PT Raised to $86.00 at Stephens

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Stephens from $85.00 to $86.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Stephens' target price points to a potential upside of 11.40% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on EWBC. Citigroup lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Compass Point boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $77.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,730,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,221,299. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $41.12 and a 12 month high of $79.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.28.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The company had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. East West Bancorp's revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,243,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $803,502,000 after purchasing an additional 215,281 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,582,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $833,469,000 after purchasing an additional 159,963 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,416,534 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $443,635,000 after buying an additional 306,473 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,215,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $231,370,000 after buying an additional 751,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,713,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,279,000 after buying an additional 886,841 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.