East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $127.54 and last traded at $127.09, with a volume of 155511 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $125.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on EWBC. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased 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 increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Ten 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $119.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,800 shares of company stock worth $5,165,690. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.