East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC – Get Rating) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $51.82, but opened at $58.60. East West Bancorp shares last traded at $57.47, with a volume of 698,429 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,319,472. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,319,472. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Irene H. Oh purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $49.51 per share, with a total value of $495,100.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 124,925 shares in the company, valued at $6,185,036.75. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.00.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.40.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $826.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.24 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 43.06% and a return on equity of 19.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1,681.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,515.6% in the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 80.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.68% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following business segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other. The Consumer and Business Banking segment provides financial service products and services to consumer and commercial customers through the company’s branch network in the U.S.