East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,470,000 shares, a decrease of 10.6% from the October 15th total of 5,000,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 736,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $103.81. 256,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 931,200. The company has a market cap of $14.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $90.18 and its 200 day moving average is $81.74. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $60.34 and a fifty-two week high of $107.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price 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, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,509.50. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,969 shares of company stock worth $2,625,276 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 33,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,579,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 49.5% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 105,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 20.1% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 13,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.