East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Raised to $95.00 at Piper Sandler

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its target price raised by Piper Sandler from $87.00 to $95.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on EWBC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.46.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $95.10 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.63. The company has a market capitalization of $13.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.29. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $52.29 and a fifty-two week high of $98.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 24.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.21 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,509.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,343.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $338,142,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 7.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,822,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,480,000 after buying an additional 118,658 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 82.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,687,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,502,000 after buying an additional 761,347 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 112.5% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,441,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,013,000 after acquiring an additional 762,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $59,460,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.