East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on EWBC. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $89.07 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 968,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01 % 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 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 28.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 86.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 6,002 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,223,000 after purchasing an additional 136,528 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $1,105,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.