East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $118.13 and last traded at $118.36, with a volume of 74253 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $115.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Cowen began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.92.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $108.59 and its 200-day moving average is $105.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 26.46%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total transaction of $1,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,820. This trade represents a 18.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 12,547 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $1,442,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 93,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,714,205. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 73,344 shares of company stock worth $8,184,226 over the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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.