DA Davidson Issues Pessimistic Forecast for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Price

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at DA Davidson from $120.00 to $118.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. DA Davidson’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.23.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $101.90 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $67.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.73.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp will post 8.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total transaction of $147,975.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. The trade was a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Tobam raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 131.7% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% 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.