East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $129.2143.

EWBC has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Stephens lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total transaction of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,842.68. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total transaction of $5,891,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 67,674 shares of company stock valued at $7,988,184 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,323,000 after buying an additional 3,770 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 32,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midway Capital Research & Management bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,388,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $104.04 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.50. 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 $14.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results 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 company 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 period last year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 33.61%.

About East West Bancorp

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.