Key Points
- CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares on May 5 at an average price of $123.49 for about $3.70M, trimming his stake by 3.91% to 737,930 shares valued near $91.13M.
- East West Bancorp beat Q1 expectations with EPS of $2.57 versus $2.46 and revenue of $773.75M (up 11.8% year-over-year), reporting a 16.0% return on equity and a 29.59% net margin.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 (annualized $3.20) payable May 18, with an ex-dividend/record date of May 4, implying a yield of about 2.6% and a payout ratio near 32%.
East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 737,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,126,975.70. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
East West Bancorp Price Performance
Shares of EWBC stock opened at $125.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $17.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.97. The business's fifty day moving average is $112.71 and its 200 day moving average is $111.53. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.58 and a twelve month high of $127.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.
East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
East West Bancorp Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared 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 presently 31.97%.
Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% during the first 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 purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 34.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 118.7% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 19,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have commented on EWBC shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $133.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.36.
Read Our Latest Research Report on East West Bancorp
About East West Bancorp
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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