East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $107.63 and last traded at $107.61, with a volume of 17631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.25.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $87.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $14.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.27.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,625,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 687,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,079,000 after purchasing an additional 148,530 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 86.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 6,002 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 7,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,231,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,152,000 after purchasing an additional 96,729 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

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.