East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,800,000 shares, a drop of 5.7% from the November 30th total of 4,030,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 890,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.77.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $95.76 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $67.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $102.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $4,157,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 24,904 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 159.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,448,000 after buying an additional 18,166 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,287,000 after buying an additional 123,376 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $5,978,000. 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.