East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $137.00 to $150.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. East West Bancorp traded as high as $136.12 and last traded at $136.0230, with a volume of 275497 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $132.41.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on EWBC. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,661,152.05. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711 in the last ninety days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 2.7%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The company had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 31.97%.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.