East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $90.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, down from their prior price objective of $118.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on EWBC. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Stephens downgraded East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.46.

Remove Ads

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock traded up $0.99 during trading on Monday, reaching $72.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,362,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 911,121. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $89.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, 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 have sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 in the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,687,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.