Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Acquires 11,537 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 108.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,537 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $274,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 511.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,271,000 after acquiring an additional 920,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 35,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock opened at $105.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $14.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $113.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.48. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,237,558.42. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,807. This represents a 9.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.21.

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.