East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $132.88 and last traded at $133.6960, with a volume of 1000596 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $132.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. Citigroup raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.2%

The firm has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $121.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.67.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 53,511 shares of company stock valued at $6,678,159 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.