Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 5,403 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 4.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 114,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,403 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $14,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $126.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $131.43 and its 200-day moving average is $122.43. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $137.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The business had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. East West Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 30.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 36,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,219.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,093,742. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,511 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,741 in the last quarter. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, August 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.92.

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.