Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Stephens from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential upside of 11.43% from the company’s current price.

EWBC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.29.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 2.7%

EWBC stock opened at $112.18 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.88. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $119.73. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.83.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total transaction of $3,408,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 858,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,530,219.82. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $1,017,325.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,950 shares in the company, valued at $1,719,698.50. This trade represents a 37.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,344 shares of company stock worth $8,184,226. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 880.7% during the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after buying an additional 19,420 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 249.8% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 13,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 9,363 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,029,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 90.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 311,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,428,000 after acquiring an additional 147,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 2,084.8% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,665,000 after acquiring an additional 50,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

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.