East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08, RTT News reports. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $1.66 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.96. The stock had a trading volume of 909,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,210,183. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.28. The stock has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.39. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $41.12 and a 1-year high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.86%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EWBC. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp 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 in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.