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

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.53.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $83.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.23 and its 200-day moving average is $76.82. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $49.59 and a 52-week high of $89.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.29.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.10. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,621,111.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,343.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,160 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $338,142,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $115,369,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,692,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $59,460,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 112.5% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,441,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,013,000 after buying an additional 762,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% 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.