Stifel Financial Corp Grows Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Covestor Ltd increased its position in East West Bancorp by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $95.91 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.49. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

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.