StockNews.com Upgrades East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on EWBC. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $97.66 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $99.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.05. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $68.78 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 108.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28,549 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,157,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 24,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 159.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 18,166 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.