Morgan Stanley Cuts East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target to $128.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $141.00 to $128.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.13% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price objective on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.29.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $2.74 on Tuesday, hitting $106.55. The company had a trading volume of 398,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,165,155. The stock has a market cap of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.37. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $123.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This trade represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,842.68. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 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.