Brokerages Set East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) PT at $84.00

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.77.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EWBC. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $72.65 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.87 and a 200-day moving average of $73.54. The company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $49.59 and a 52-week high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.71%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total transaction of $590,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,234,045.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total value of $590,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,234,045.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 123,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,528,000 after acquiring an additional 43,558 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $751,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $645,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 63,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,345,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 256.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 487,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,690,000 after buying an additional 350,706 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.