Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target to $85.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price target raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $82.00 to $85.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $106.00 price objective on the stock. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $75.98 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $41.12 and a 12 month high of $79.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $74.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.57. The company has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The company had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a 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 dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $369,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $249,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 40,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,212,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 95,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,584,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About East West Bancorp

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.