East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Upgraded by UBS Group to Buy Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $125.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stephens lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.36.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $110.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $111.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $15.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,981,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $559,822,000 after purchasing an additional 106,998 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,620,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,329,000 after purchasing an additional 306,916 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,713,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,619,000 after purchasing an additional 318,303 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.