East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives $110.38 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $110.38.

Several analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.9 %

EWBC opened at $98.57 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $68.78 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $99.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.23. The company has a market cap of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,590,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,174,000 after buying an additional 632,245 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,269,000 after buying an additional 447,057 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,052,000 after buying an additional 437,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,138,000. Hedge funds and other 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.