East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08, RTT News reports. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $76.33 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.34. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $41.12 and a twelve month high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.38.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

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.