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

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.46.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $98.84 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.94 and a 200 day moving average of $78.67. The stock has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.29. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $52.88 and a 12 month high of $99.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,509.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,343.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 362.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Tobam grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 131.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 490.1% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.