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

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $117.00 and last traded at $115.98, with a volume of 112072 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $114.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on EWBC. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $139.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.4%

The stock has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.57.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.46%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 12,547 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $1,442,905.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 93,167 shares in the company, valued at $10,714,205. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total transaction of $159,189.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,339.88. This trade represents a 16.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 65,891 shares of company stock worth $7,335,330. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.