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

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $102.25.

A number of research analysts recently commented on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

East West Bancorp stock opened at $110.05 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.41. The stock has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.27. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $60.34 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total transaction of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. This represents a 12.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,543,510.50. This trade represents a 7.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,000 after purchasing an additional 7,645 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,959,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,513,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,438,000 after acquiring an additional 122,738 shares in 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 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.