Analysts Set East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Target Price at $109.77

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.77.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,193 shares in the company, valued at $11,543,510.50. This represents a 7.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of East West Bancorp 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 transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC opened at $96.68 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.48. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $67.27 and a 52-week 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 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

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.