East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

EWBC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.23.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $102.93. 2,181,233 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 966,914. The firm has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $67.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $101.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.05.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 8.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total transaction of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. This represents a 12.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,543,510.50. This represents a 7.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $652,223,000 after buying an additional 136,528 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,763,000 after purchasing an additional 75,024 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,231,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,152,000 after buying an additional 96,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,438,000 after buying an additional 122,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,287,000 after buying an additional 123,376 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.