Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Price

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Barclays from $120.00 to $105.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 36.08% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. DA Davidson cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Compass Point upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.46.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 8.6 %

Shares of EWBC opened at $77.16 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $90.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.19. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at $87,148,260. This trade represents a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $250,000. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $339,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $900,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after buying an additional 4,212 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.