Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Price

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Piper Sandler from $116.00 to $111.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 1.84% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $125.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.93.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $108.99 on Thursday. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $123.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $111.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,807. This trade represents a 9.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 82.6% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.