East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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 note issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $85.43 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $97.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.74. The company has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,022 in the last three months. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.