East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Upgraded at UBS Group
by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat GemUBS Group upgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC – Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $125.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.
A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.36.
Check Out Our Latest Report on East West Bancorp
East West Bancorp Stock Performance
Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $116.73 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.50 and a one year high of $123.82. The company has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.49.
East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.The business had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.
East West Bancorp Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.61%.
Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp
In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 over the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185,781 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 840,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,861,000 after acquiring an additional 687,145 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 633,649 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.