East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $126.0769.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. Barclays lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total value of $3,408,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 858,314 shares in the company, valued at $97,530,219.82. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total value of $159,189.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,339.88. The trade was a 16.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,344 shares of company stock valued at $8,184,226. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,807,000 after buying an additional 2,968,716 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $174,431,000. Boston Partners grew its position in East West Bancorp by 39.6% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,271,000 after acquiring an additional 920,159 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 840,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,861,000 after acquiring an additional 687,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,207,000 after acquiring an additional 542,149 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $116.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $108.93 and its 200-day moving average is $105.88. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $118.55.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The business had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 26.46%.

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.