Short Interest in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Drops By 15.6%

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,273,103 shares, a decrease of 15.6% from the December 31st total of 3,875,801 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 770,590 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 770,590 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on EWBC. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Stephens raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.21.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $114.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.92. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $119.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $113.14 and a 200-day moving average of $107.09.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total value of $3,408,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 858,314 shares in the company, valued at $97,530,219.82. The trade was a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total transaction of $159,189.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,556 shares in the company, valued at $791,339.88. This trade represents a 16.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 62,364 shares of company stock worth $7,084,827 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 127.6% during the second quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.