Atomi Financial Group Inc. Takes $216,000 Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. First Heartland Consultants Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $214,000. JB Capital LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 54,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $357,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, RBA Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.6% during the second quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,095,000 after buying an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,621,111.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $166,411.92. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,470 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,111.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,160 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.53.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $82.98 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.47 and a 200-day moving average of $75.83. The company has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.59 and a 1 year high of $89.75.

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

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

About East West Bancorp

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.