East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

EWBC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.08.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock opened at $116.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $117.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.61.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.46%.

Insider Transactions 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 Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total value of $1,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,551,820. This trade represents a 18.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $1,017,325.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719,698.50. This trade represents a 37.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 73,344 shares of company stock valued at $8,184,226 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 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.