Analysts Set East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Target Price at $110.38

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $110.38.

Several research firms have weighed in on EWBC. UBS Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded up $1.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $85.42. 517,053 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 857,470. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.81. The company has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

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East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022 in the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,197,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,359,511,000 after buying an additional 70,503 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,990,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $765,167,000 after purchasing an additional 107,665 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $439,763,000 after purchasing an additional 75,024 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $423,148,000 after purchasing an additional 186,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $289,052,000 after purchasing an additional 437,676 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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.