Cantor Fitzgerald Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $137.00 to $150.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.59% from the stock’s previous close.

EWBC has been the topic of several other reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $132.05. 91,084 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,047,216. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $136.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $126.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $18.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,219.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,093,742. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 18,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after buying an additional 1,830 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $2,324,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Marathon Mission Inc. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.1% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 88,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,403,000 after purchasing an additional 5,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.