Stephens Boosts East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target to $86.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective increased by Stephens from $85.00 to $86.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an overweight rating and a $106.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Compass Point increased 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 report on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $75.98 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $41.12 and a one year high of $79.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. East West Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 727,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,348,000 after buying an additional 3,302 shares during the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,445,000 after buying an additional 4,795 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $765,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.