Key Points
- Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 East West Bancorp shares at an average price of $130.40, totaling $105,624. Following the transaction, he retained 10,629 shares, a 7.08% reduction in his direct ownership.
- East West Bancorp reported quarterly earnings of $2.63 per share, topping estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 12.5% year over year to $789.98 million.
- Analysts maintain a favorable view, with the stock rated “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.15. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.80, equivalent to a 2.5% yield.
East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total value of $105,624.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,386,021.60. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.
East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%
EWBC stock opened at $129.37 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $131.33 and a 200 day moving average of $123.00. The firm has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $137.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.
East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The company's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.
East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 30.77%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have commented on EWBC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.15.
Read Our Latest Report on EWBC
Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in East West Bancorp by 12,510.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,651,302 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,665,877,000 after purchasing an additional 20,487,542 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,744,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $596,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,981,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $559,822,000 after purchasing an additional 106,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,620,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,329,000 after buying an additional 306,916 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About East West Bancorp
(
Get Free Report)
East West Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: EWBC) is the holding company for East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions through its East West Bank subsidiary.
East West Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential mortgage services, wealth management, treasury management, and international banking services. Its products support commercial real estate, commercial and industrial businesses, residential borrowers, and consumers.
The bank has a particular focus on serving communities and businesses connected to the United States and Greater China.
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