Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target to $85.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price target lifted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $82.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.31% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $76.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.76 and its 200 day moving average is $68.40. The company has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.62, 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 current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $41.12 and a 1 year high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 26.78%. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $369,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $249,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 40,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.5% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 95,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,584,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RBA Wealth Management LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 1.7% during the first quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,353,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.