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

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $125.53 and last traded at $124.98, with a volume of 920754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.36.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,842.68. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,807. This represents a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 28,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,010,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $361,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 124,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,686,000 after buying an additional 2,998 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 264,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,046,000 after buying an additional 20,264 shares during the period. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.