East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Raised to $160.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its target price increased by Barclays from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EWBC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $152.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.77.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 3.7%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $129.04 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.20 and its 200-day moving average is $123.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $98.72 and a 1 year high of $137.47. The company has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $822.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.07 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.75% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 30.45%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $135,020.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $105,624.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,386,021.60. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 26.3% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 1,808 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 144.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 15,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 9,234 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,239,000. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 341.9% during the 3rd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 16,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 12,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is the parent company of East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. The bank serves businesses, professionals, consumers and institutions through a range of deposit, lending and financial services.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential and consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, treasury management, international banking, wealth management and foreign-exchange services.