East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of EWBC opened at $90.87 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $95.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 over the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,197,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,359,511,000 after purchasing an additional 70,503 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,990,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $765,167,000 after buying an additional 107,665 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,763,000 after buying an additional 75,024 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,148,000 after acquiring an additional 186,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,052,000 after acquiring an additional 437,676 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.