East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Raised to $103.00 at Morgan Stanley

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $103.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on EWBC. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.53.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $77.25. 817,411 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,033,394. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $49.59 and a 1 year high of $89.75. The company has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $638.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.61 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,486,343.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,486,343.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total transaction of $590,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,234,045.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,346 shares of company stock worth $1,531,240. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,366,000. Finally, Tritonpoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $234,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.