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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.2%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $121.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G 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.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total value of $66,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,328,485. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 53,511 shares of company stock worth $6,678,159 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after buying an additional 19,178 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About East West Bancorp

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.