Old West Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 47,795 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 47,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,170,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,981,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $559,822,000 after purchasing an additional 106,998 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,620,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,329,000 after purchasing an additional 306,916 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,713,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,619,000 after purchasing an additional 318,303 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $136.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $131.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $137.30.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,093,742. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,511 shares of company stock worth $4,312,741. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.77.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.