East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on EWBC. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $89.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.01.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,148,260. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during 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.