East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.42.

EWBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Compass Point upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 52.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $74.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.39. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $41.12 and a twelve month high of $79.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.11. 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 results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $654.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.91 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

About East West Bancorp

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.