SFE Investment Counsel Sells 1,200 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

SFE Investment Counsel decreased its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $744,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 65.1% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target 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. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.15.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $72.00. The company had a trading volume of 432,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,206,758. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.12 and a 1 year high of $79.54. The company has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.52. 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 (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.11% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The company had revenue of $654.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 26.89%.

Insider Activity

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

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.