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

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.15.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,725,000 after buying an additional 3,228 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $836,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 8.1% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 77,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,821 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 221.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,803,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,090,792,000 after purchasing an additional 86,848 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.3 %

East West Bancorp stock opened at $71.56 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.52. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $41.12 and a 52 week high of $79.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The company had revenue of $654.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 26.89%.

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.