East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Short Interest Up 8.2% in December

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC – Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,110,000 shares, an increase of 8.2% from the December 15th total of 1,950,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 913,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on East West Bancorp to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 5,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.43, for a total transaction of $362,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 52,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,797,867.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,681.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Tobam purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,515.6% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 80.1% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellevest Inc. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 763.0% in the second quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. 88.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $68.75. 384,105 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 780,034. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $61.65 and a 52-week high of $93.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $66.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.40.

About East West Bancorp

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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. It operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other. The company accepts various deposit products, such as personal and business checking and savings accounts, money market, and time deposits.