East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Raised to $141.00 at Morgan Stanley

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $126.00 to $141.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 26.76% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $125.00 price objective on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Stephens upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research downgraded East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.21.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $111.24. 369,319 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,079,920. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $123.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $116.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,807. This trade represents a 9.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,842.68. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,065 shares of company stock valued at $13,857,314. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $274,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $203,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 90.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 311,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,428,000 after buying an additional 147,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 701.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.