East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Issues Earnings Results

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08, RTT News reports. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of EWBC stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $76.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 265,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,422. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $41.12 and a 12-month high of $79.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.34.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Citigroup raised 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’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 approximately $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.