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

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,310,000 shares, a drop of 16.2% from the January 31st total of 3,950,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 881,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $90.47. 999,412 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 856,479. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.78 and a one year high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $12.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.60.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.38.

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.