Expect Equity LLC Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Expect Equity LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 25,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,327,000. East West Bancorp accounts for 2.1% of Expect Equity LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $11,280,926.62. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,511 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,741 over the last quarter. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $129.43 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.20. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $137.47. The company has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.49 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.24 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

East West Bancorp Profile

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.