East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Raised to $109.00 at Citigroup

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Citigroup from $103.00 to $109.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.60% from the stock’s current price.

EWBC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $90.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.23. The company has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.29. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $51.40 and a twelve month high of $93.30.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.40%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,160 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 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.