East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08, RTT News reports. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.68. 846,109 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,209,215. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.58 and a 200-day moving average of $68.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.39. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $41.12 and a 12 month high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Compass Point upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.38.

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.