East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Hits New 12-Month High at $79.86

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $79.86 and last traded at $79.74, with a volume of 125697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.4 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 1.32.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. East West Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total transaction of $590,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,234,045.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total value of $775,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,867,632.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total value of $590,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,234,045.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 72.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.5% during the second quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 175,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,869,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,078,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.