East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $109.77.

EWBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,639 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,537.35. This represents a 12.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $96.68 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $67.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.48.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

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.