East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week high — EWBC traded as high as $125.53 (last $124.98) on volume of 920,754 shares.
• Analyst sentiment is positive — 11 Buys and 5 Holds give an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $132.36, and several firms recently raised their price targets.
• Fundamentals and payout — East West beat quarterly estimates with EPS $2.57 (vs. $2.46) and revenue $773.8M (+11.8% YoY), and declared a $0.80 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.20, yield 2.6%; ex-div May 4, payable May 18).

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $125.53 and last traded at $124.98, with a volume of 920754 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $122.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson boosted their price target 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $132.36.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company's 50-day moving average price is $112.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.65.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.46 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total transaction of $5,891,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 over the last three months. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $596,967,000 after buying an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 281.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $180,647,000 after buying an additional 1,185,781 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $412,464,000 after buying an additional 633,649 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $143,207,000 after buying an additional 542,149 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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