StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.
EWBC has been the topic of several other reports. DA Davidson dropped their price objective 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. Compass Point upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.31.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on EWBC
East West Bancorp Stock Performance
NASDAQ EWBC traded up $2.94 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.97. 3,827,062 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 831,383. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $68.78 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.66 and a 200-day moving average of $94.80.
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 represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.
Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp
In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $562,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 486,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,618,000 after acquiring an additional 51,052 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $2,491,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $869,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.
About East West Bancorp
(
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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.
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