East West Bancorp’s (EWBC) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their outperform rating on shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $90.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on EWBC. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $106.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Compass Point increased 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 report on Wednesday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $84.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $77.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.69 and its 200 day moving average is $68.34. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $41.12 and a twelve month high of $79.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.