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

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) 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.

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:EWBC) 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

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.