East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Now Covered by Truist Financial

Truist Financial started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $102.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.54.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $96.00 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $13.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.29 and a 200 day moving average of $94.66.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $673.02 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 100,181 shares of company stock valued at $9,273,894 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 283,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,430,000 after purchasing an additional 24,074 shares in the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $2,654,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,376,000 after purchasing an additional 7,768 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.