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

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock 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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth $338,142,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,215,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,370,000 after acquiring an additional 751,944 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,713,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,279,000 after acquiring an additional 886,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,462,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $177,145,000 after acquiring an additional 72,746 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $74.12 and a 200-day moving average of $74.12. The firm has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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.