East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.15.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target for the company.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $71.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $41.12 and a 1 year high of $79.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.52.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.11% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The business had revenue of $654.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.