Morgan Stanley Boosts East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target to $106.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $103.00 to $106.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 32.43% from the company’s current price.

EWBC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.87.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $80.04 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $81.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.11. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $49.59 and a 1-year high of $89.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.29.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.61 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,346 shares of company stock worth $1,108,160 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $25,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.