East West Bancorp (EWBC) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) will be posting its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday, April 23rd. Analysts expect East West Bancorp to post earnings of $2.01 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in participating in the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $654.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.91 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect East West Bancorp to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of EWBC traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 782,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,009. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.24 and a 200 day moving average of $67.49. The company has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.39. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $41.12 and a 1 year high of $79.54. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.89%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Ossiam lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.4% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Compass Point increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.15.

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.