Short Interest in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Decreases By 10.6%

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,470,000 shares, a decrease of 10.6% from the October 15th total of 5,000,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 736,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.1 days.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total transaction of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,049,537.35. The trade was a 12.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,625,276. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 362.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Tobam increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 131.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 974,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,035,753. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $89.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $60.34 and a one year high of $107.68. The stock has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.25.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.