SFE Investment Counsel Purchases Shares of 10,610 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

SFE Investment Counsel purchased a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,370,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,523,000 after acquiring an additional 27,402 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,044,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,516,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 199,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,440,000 after purchasing an additional 17,486 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.77.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $136.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $137.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The business had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 33,511 shares of company stock worth $4,312,741 over the last ninety days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.