East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

EWBC has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $98.97 on Tuesday. 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 fifty day moving average price is $99.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $68.36 and a 12-month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $249,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 109.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 362.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,332,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the period. Finally, Michael S. Ryan Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $200,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.