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

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. East West Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of EWBC opened at $77.20 on Thursday. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $41.12 and a 52-week high of $79.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.34. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on EWBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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 East West Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the sale, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.