GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $78,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,675,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,827,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,313,000 after buying an additional 487,418 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 863,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,521,000 after buying an additional 391,702 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 392.1% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 453,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,921,000 after acquiring an additional 361,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 256.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 487,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,690,000 after acquiring an additional 350,706 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC opened at $76.45 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.39. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.12 and a 1-year high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% 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.