East West Bancorp’s (EWBC) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $150.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on EWBC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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 East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.23.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

EWBC opened at $131.00 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $92.67 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $128.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.53. The company has a market capitalization of $17.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $791.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 118.7% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 19,178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Company 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.