East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Sets New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $82.75 and last traded at $82.32, with a volume of 96290 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.92.

The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.10. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.85%. The business had revenue of $638.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. East West Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 27.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on EWBC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.60.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

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

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,582,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $833,469,000 after purchasing an additional 159,963 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $338,142,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,215,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,370,000 after purchasing an additional 751,944 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,713,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,279,000 after acquiring an additional 886,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,462,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,145,000 after acquiring an additional 72,746 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.12 and its 200-day moving average is $74.12. The company has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.32.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.