Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Purchases Shares of 15,249 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,968,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.92.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,248.38. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,093,742. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,511 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,741 over the last ninety days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $130.43 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.29. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $137.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The business had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

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.