East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $109.77.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $96.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $101.92 and its 200 day moving average is $87.78. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $67.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $13.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,543,510.50. The trade was a 7.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.