East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on EWBC. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $93.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $98.83 and a 200-day moving average of $93.54. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 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.