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

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $128.1429.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Stephens boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $109.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $116.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.18. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.92. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.61%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 12,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $1,442,905.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 93,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,714,205. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $1,017,325.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719,698.50. This represents a 37.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,065 shares of company stock worth $13,857,314. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 179.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.