Hahn Capital Management LLC recently lowered its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. by 16.2% during the first quarter of the year, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,609 shares during the period. East West Bancorp accounted for 3.3% of Hahn Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making it the 18th largest position.
Analysts have been closely monitoring East West Bancorp since it posted its earnings results on April 20th. At that time, the company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating expectations by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $659.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.68 million.
Despite this positive news, research reports indicate that analysts are divided on EWBC’s prospects for growth and investment potential moving forward. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report dated March 2023, while Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating just two months later.
As June comes to a close and analysts review company performance over Q2 2023, investors will be keen to see whether Hahn Capital Management LLC has readjusted its portfolio given these varied opinions regarding future growth opportunities in East West Bancorp stock.
While some may view this type of conflicting analysis as disconcerting or even contradictory, seasoned investors know that these varying opinions are simply part and parcel of investing in today’s complex global market environment.
Regardless of one’s opinion regarding EWBC’s prospects for long-term growth or resilience through short-term shocks and disruptions, what is certain is that investors will benefit from staying up-to-date with the latest news and insights related to this highly scrutinized financial services provider.
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Institutional Investors Increase Stakes in East West Bancorp as CEO and Director also Buy Shares
[stock_market_widget type=”chart” template=”basic” color=”#3946CE” assets=”EWBC” range=”1mo” interval=”1d” axes=”true” cursor=”true” range_selector=”true” api=”yf”]East West Bancorp Inc., a financial services provider, has recently seen changes in the positions of institutional investors and hedge funds. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in the company’s shares by 17.4% during the 1st quarter, while Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the same period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board also increased their holdings in East West Bancorp by 8.1% and 221%, respectively, during the first quarter of 2023. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns over 13 million shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1 billion after buying an additional 86,848 shares in the last quarter alone.
East West Bancorp opened at $49.38 on June 26th and has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion despite a recent decrease in price objective from Truist Financial to $64.00 from $85.00 with a buy rating on the stock; Morgan Stanley reduced its target price on East West Bancorp from $88 to $65 as well.
East West Bancorp just paid out its quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share on May 15th to record holders from May 1st, which represents an annualized dividend and yield of 3.89%. The company’s payout ratio is currently at only approximately 22%.
In other news, CEO Dominic Ng bought an additional11,900 shares of East West Bancorp stock priced at an average of $42.09 each for a total value close to half a million dollars, adding up to his more than nine hundred thousand shares he personally owns in the company; Director Molly Campbell also purchased around six hundred fifty shares at around forty-five dollars per share.
Furthermore, various analysts rate East West Bancorp either as hold or buy according to Bloomberg with an average target price of $71.13. With institutional investors strategically increasing their stakes, East West Bancorp, Inc is an exciting stock to watch in the financial services industry.
