East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 26.78%. East West Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC opened at $77.20 on Thursday. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $41.12 and a 12-month high of $79.54. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.69 and a 200-day moving average of $68.34. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value 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 accessible through this link. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Stephens increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.38.

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.