East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBCGet Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $105.73 and last traded at $104.80, with a volume of 71496 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $97.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Compass Point upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.46.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on EWBC

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $14.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $86.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBCGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 this link. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,740,210. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,969 shares of company stock valued at $1,345,956. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 16.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $339,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $5,952,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 5.6% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 35,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About East West Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for East West Bancorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for East West Bancorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.