As of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 26, 2023, UBS Group AG has grown its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 7.7%. The financial services provider’s stock now has a market cap of $7.06 billion and a PE ratio of 5.85. Despite this growth in holdings, the company has received mixed ratings from equities research analysts.
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on April 6th. Meanwhile, UBS Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on March 15th, giving the company a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 target price for the company.
Wells Fargo & Company also lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in an April 21st research note. Similarly, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target from $88.00 to $65.00 and gave it an “equal weight” rating for the company in an April 5th research note.
Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave it a “neutral” rating in an April 21st research note.
Overall, Bloomberg.com reports that one investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating while three have assigned a hold rating and three have given it a buy rating with a consensus rating of “Hold” among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.com.
Despite these mixed ratings, EWBC opened at $49.94 on May 26th which is within its twelve month low of $33.86 and twelve month high of $80.98. With a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, East West Bancorp appears to be holding steady with modest growth potential according to UBS Group AG’s recent filing with the SEC.
Institutional Investors and Insiders Show Interest in East West Bancorp (EWBC) Amid Strong Financial Results and Fluctuating Analyst Ratings
East West Bancorp (EWBC) has recently garnered attention from institutional investors, who have been buying and selling shares of the financial services provider. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in the company by a whopping 1,681.8% in the fourth quarter, while Huntington National Bank and IFP Advisors Inc increased their positions by 80.1% and 23.9% respectively during the third quarter. Similarly, First Horizon Advisors Inc and Quadrant Capital Group LLC also expanded their EWBC holdings.
In addition to institutional investors, corporate insiders have been making moves with transactions involving EWBC stock. CFO Irene H. Oh recently acquired 10,000 shares of EWBC on Monday, March 13th at an average cost of $49.51 per share, totaling $495,100. She now owns 124,925 shares of the company’s stock worth over $6 million. Director Manuel Pham Alvarez also purchased 1,250 shares of EWBC at an average cost of $43.60 per share for a total value of $54,500 on Thursday, May 11th.
These insider purchases come amid recent fluctuations in analysts’ ratings for the stock – Keefe Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target from $90 to $81 while other analysts remain neutral or bullish on EWBC’s solid performance and growth potential.
EWBC posted better-than-expected results in their quarterly earnings report with revenue reaching almost $660 million — up more than 33% YoY — beating estimates by nearly $14 million while EPS came in at $2.32 thanks to a net margin exceeding 40%.
Shareholders who held EWBC stock as of May 1st received a quarterly dividend payment on May 15th of $.48 per share that represents an annualized dividend payout ratio of approximately 22%. While some analysts may remain neutral towards East West Bancorp’s future performance, the company’s strong financials make it a compelling pick for institutional investors and insiders alike.
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