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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on EWBC. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $89.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.30. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

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.