East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Announces Earnings Results

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $76.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.38.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’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 directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.