Archana Deskus Sells 1,800 Shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $125.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.03. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.21 and a 12 month high of $127.52. The company has a market capitalization of $17.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.90.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $194,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 239,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,610,000 after buying an additional 3,171 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 190.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 63,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,830,000 after buying an additional 41,951 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 5,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 28,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,010,000 after buying an additional 700 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.