East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $109.15.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EWBC. UBS Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley downgraded East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th.

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Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,783,710.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $72.32. 2,276,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 891,739. The firm has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.86 and a 200 day moving average of $95.61. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $66.56 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

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.