East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Increased to $106.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $103.00 to $106.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on EWBC. DA Davidson increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $89.87.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $80.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $81.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $49.59 and a 12-month high of $89.75.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.61 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,621,111.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $166,411.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,470 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,111.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,346 shares of company stock worth $1,108,160 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.