East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Coverage Initiated at UBS Group

UBS Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in a research report report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $112.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on EWBC. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC traded down $1.79 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.18. 1,185,730 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 921,456. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $67.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The company has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.03.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,543,510.50. This represents a 7.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 6.2% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,552,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $128,414,000 after acquiring an additional 90,618 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,800,000 after purchasing an additional 7,645 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,513,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

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.