Weiss Ratings Reiterates "Buy (B-)" Rating for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Buy (B-)" rating for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC), indicating a positive outlook on the company's stock.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their price targets for East West Bancorp, with Morgan Stanley raising its target from $111 to $126, while Barclays increased its target from $140 to $145.
• East West Bancorp recently reported earnings per share of $2.28 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.3%.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.20.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock traded down $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.13. 549,509 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 963,866. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93. The company's fifty day moving average price is $104.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.83. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%.East West Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 15,051 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.73, for a total value of $1,606,393.23. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 113,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,098,165.69. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,302,660.45. This represents a 34.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,240 shares of company stock worth $7,379,678 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the second quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 123 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 21,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.

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