East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08, RTT News reports. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.5 %

East West Bancorp stock opened at $77.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.34. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $41.12 and a twelve month high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on EWBC. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% 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.