East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Barclays

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Barclays from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.65% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $152.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.77.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $132.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $98.08 and a 1-year high of $137.47. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.04.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $822.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.07 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.75% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 10.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,248.38. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,989.18. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,810 shares of company stock worth $1,564,344. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 242.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 57,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,451,000 after acquiring an additional 40,857 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $907,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $2,737,000. Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $842,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $1,576,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is the parent company of East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. The bank serves businesses, professionals, consumers and institutions through a range of deposit, lending and financial services.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential and consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, treasury management, international banking, wealth management and foreign-exchange services.