East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Increased to $86.00 by Analysts at Stephens

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Stephens from $85.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.75% from the stock’s current price.

EWBC has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $1.66 on Wednesday, hitting $76.96. The stock had a trading volume of 909,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,210,183. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.58 and its 200-day moving average is $68.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $41.12 and a 52-week high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.11% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The company had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on 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 owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.5% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 40,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,212,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.7% in the first quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,353,000 after buying an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $414,000. 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.