Irene H. Oh Sells 10,000 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $77.44 on Thursday. 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 $10.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.06. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.60 and a 12 month high of $79.54.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth $35,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Compass Point upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.08.

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.