Expect Equity LLC Buys New Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Expect Equity LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 17,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,926,000. East West Bancorp comprises about 1.9% of Expect Equity LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $1,530,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 108.8% during the 3rd quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 22,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,356,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,101,000 after purchasing an additional 18,696 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in East West Bancorp by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,879,000 after purchasing an additional 334,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 3,842.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 14,411 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total transaction of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 84,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,280,926.62. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 2.6%

EWBC stock opened at $127.26 on Thursday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $91.36 and a one year high of $136.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $122.55 and a 200-day moving average of $116.16.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The company had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.97%.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.