How to buy East West Bancorp stock | $47.69

East West Bancorp, Inc is a banks-diversified business based in the US. East West Bancorp shares (EWBC) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. East West Bancorp employs 3,208 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$1.3 billion.

How to buy shares in East West Bancorp

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for East West Bancorp. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: EWBC. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until East West Bancorp reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$47.69, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of East West Bancorp, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of East West Bancorp. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

East West Bancorp share price

Use our graph to track the performance of EWBC stocks over time.

East West Bancorp shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-12-27.

Latest market close	USD$47.69
52-week range	USD$22.0252 - USD$51.27
50-day moving average	USD$45.9597
200-day moving average	USD$38.3674
Wall St. target price	USD$48.2
PE ratio	12.2723
Dividend yield	USD$1.1 (2.18%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$4.106

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Is it a good time to buy East West Bancorp stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of East West Bancorp, Inc by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

East West Bancorp price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $47.69 from 2020-12-11

1 week (2021-01-15)	-22.48%
1 month (2020-12-23)	-6.42%
3 months (2020-10-22)	23.01%
6 months (2020-07-22)	34.87%

1 year (2020-01-22)	0.54%
2 years (2019-01-22)	-4.75%
3 years (2018-01-22)	68.17
5 years (2016-01-22)	38.43%

Is East West Bancorp under- or over-valued?

Valuing East West Bancorp stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of East West Bancorp's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

East West Bancorp's P/E ratio

East West Bancorp's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 12x. In other words, East West Bancorp shares trade at around 12x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

East West Bancorp's PEG ratio

East West Bancorp's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.47. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into East West Bancorp's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

East West Bancorp financials

Revenue TTM	USD$1.3 billion
Operating margin TTM	53.44%
Gross profit TTM	USD$1.5 billion
Return on assets TTM	1.26%
Return on equity TTM	11.83%
Profit margin	44.25%
Book value	$36.225
Market capitalisation	USD$7.1 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting East West Bancorp shares

There are currently 1.9 million East West Bancorp shares held short by investors – that's known as East West Bancorp's "short interest". This figure is 41.2% down from 3.2 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting East West Bancorp shares can be evaluated.

East West Bancorp's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

East West Bancorp's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of East West Bancorp shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of East West Bancorp shares traded daily (recently around 1.5 million). East West Bancorp's SIR currently stands at 1.26. In other words for every 100,000 East West Bancorp shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1260 shares are currently held short.

However East West Bancorp's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of East West Bancorp shares, or, against the total number of tradable East West Bancorp shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case East West Bancorp's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 East West Bancorp shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.015% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable East West Bancorp shares, roughly 15 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against East West Bancorp.

Find out more about how you can short East West Bancorp stock.

East West Bancorp's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like East West Bancorp.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

East West Bancorp's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 26.87

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and East West Bancorp's overall score of 26.87 (as at 01/01/2019) is nothing to write home about – landing it in it in the 48th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like East West Bancorp is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

East West Bancorp's environmental score

Environmental score: 4.2/100

East West Bancorp's environmental score of 4.2 puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that East West Bancorp is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

East West Bancorp's social score

Social score: 15.71/100

East West Bancorp's social score of 15.71 puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that East West Bancorp is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

East West Bancorp's governance score

Governance score: 12.45/100

East West Bancorp's governance score puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that East West Bancorp is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

East West Bancorp's controversy score

Controversy score: 1/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. East West Bancorp scored a 1 out of 5 for controversy – the highest score possible, reflecting that East West Bancorp has managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

East West Bancorp, Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	26.87
Total ESG percentile	47.96
Environmental score	4.2
Environmental score percentile	3
Social score	15.71
Social score percentile	3
Governance score	12.45
Governance score percentile	3
Level of controversy	1

East West Bancorp share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 26.83% of net profits

Recently East West Bancorp has paid out, on average, around 26.83% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 2.18% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), East West Bancorp shareholders could enjoy a 2.18% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In East West Bancorp's case, that would currently equate to about $1.1 per share.

While East West Bancorp's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that East West Bancorp may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.

East West Bancorp's most recent dividend payout was on 16 November 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 30 October 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have East West Bancorp's shares ever split?

East West Bancorp's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 22 June 2004. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your East West Bancorp shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for East West Bancorp shares which in turn could have impacted East West Bancorp's share price.

East West Bancorp share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, East West Bancorp's shares have ranged in value from as little as $22.0252 up to $51.27. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while East West Bancorp's is 1.9533. This would suggest that East West Bancorp's shares are more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

East West Bancorp overview

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 and Greater China. It operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other. The company accepts various deposit products, such as personal and business checking and savings accounts, money market, time deposits, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan products include commercial and residential real estate, lines of credit, construction, trade finance, letters of credit, commercial business, housing loans, asset-based lending, and equipment financing, as well as financing to clients needing a financial bridge to facilitate their business transactions between the United States and Greater China. The company also provides various wealth management, treasury management, foreign exchange, and interest rate and commodity hedging risk management services; and internet-based services comprising online banking services. As of July 23, 2020, it operated approximately 125 locations in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas, and Washington; full service branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shantou, and Shenzhen; and representative offices in Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Taipei, and Xiamen. East West Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Pasadena, California.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of East West Bancorp is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.738% of East West Bancorp shares are held by insiders and 91.567% by institutions.

• How many people work for East West Bancorp?

  Latest data suggests 3,208 work at East West Bancorp.

• When does the fiscal year end for East West Bancorp?

  East West Bancorp's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is East West Bancorp based?

  East West Bancorp's address is: 135 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States, 91101

• What is East West Bancorp's ISIN number?

  East West Bancorp's international securities identification number is: US27579R1041

• What is East West Bancorp's CUSIP number?

  East West Bancorp's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 27579R104