East West Bancorp, Inc. (EWBC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.80 on May 18th

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of 0.80 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, May 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th.

East West Bancorp has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 8 consecutive years. East West Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 33.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect East West Bancorp to earn $10.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.2%.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.0%

EWBC stock opened at $122.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $83.11 and a 12 month high of $124.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.25.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.20%. East West Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,807. This trade represents a 9.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.