East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Short Interest Down 5.7% in December

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,800,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the November 30th total of 4,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 890,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.76. The company had a trading volume of 609,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 928,252. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $102.03 and its 200 day moving average is $88.02. 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 $13.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $67.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly 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 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens downgraded East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.77.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in East West Bancorp by 2.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. 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.