Amalgamated Bank Grows Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,618 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $6,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 65.1% during the third 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. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in East West Bancorp by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.4% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 63,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,345,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $76.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.65. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.12 and a 12 month high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The company had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

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

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.