East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03, Yahoo Finance reports. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $97.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.29. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $51.40 and a 1 year high of $98.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,509.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.46.

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.