East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on EWBC. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $89.07 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $68.78 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The firm has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by 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.