Centaurus Financial Inc. Grows Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 99.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,817 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 38.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,807,000 after buying an additional 2,968,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $174,431,000. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $137,390,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,271,000 after purchasing an additional 920,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 840,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,861,000 after purchasing an additional 687,145 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.0%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $113.62 on Monday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $116.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 27.16%.The company had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 26.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. Cowen initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total value of $1,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,551,820. This trade represents a 18.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total transaction of $3,408,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 858,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,530,219.82. The trade was a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,344 shares of company stock worth $5,892,425. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.