Piper Sandler Boosts East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target to $95.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price target lifted by Piper Sandler from $87.00 to $95.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.46.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $95.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $13.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.62. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $52.29 and a one year high of $98.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.40%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.71%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,343.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 490.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.