Brokerages Set East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target at $132.36

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $132.3571.

A number of equities analysts have commented on EWBC shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock opened at $120.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.18. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $88.26 and a 1 year high of $127.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.9% during the first quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 46,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,974,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 13.9% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,915,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,470,000 after purchasing an additional 168,029 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2,035.8% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 83,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,911,000 after buying an additional 79,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.