How to buy PacWest Bancorp stock | $24.91

PacWest Bancorp is a banks-regional business based in the US. PacWest Bancorp shares (PACW) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. PacWest Bancorp employs 1,835 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$803.4 million.

How to buy shares in PacWest 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 PacWest Bancorp. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: PACW. 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 PacWest 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$24.91, 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 PacWest Bancorp, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of PacWest 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.

PacWest Bancorp share price

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

PacWest Bancorp shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-12-03.

Latest market close	USD$24.91
52-week range	USD$13.3362 - USD$37.3427
50-day moving average	USD$21.7286
200-day moving average	USD$19.4936
Wall St. target price	USD$24.31
PE ratio	5.9
Dividend yield	USD$1 (4.18%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$3.839

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Is it a good time to buy PacWest 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 PacWest Bancorp 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.

PacWest Bancorp price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $24.91 from 2020-12-09

1 week (2021-01-08)	-17.63%
1 month (2020-12-16)	-1.74%
3 months (2020-10-15)	33.85%
6 months (2020-07-15)	32.57%

1 year (2020-01-15)	-32.24%
2 years (2019-01-15)	-32.73%
3 years (2018-01-15)	N/A
5 years (2016-01-15)	35.95

Is PacWest Bancorp under- or over-valued?

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

PacWest Bancorp's P/E ratio

PacWest 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 6x. In other words, PacWest Bancorp shares trade at around 6x 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.

PacWest Bancorp's PEG ratio

PacWest Bancorp's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.56. 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 PacWest 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.

PacWest Bancorp financials

Revenue TTM	USD$803.4 million
Operating margin TTM	42.56%
Gross profit TTM	USD$1.1 billion
Return on assets TTM	-4.48%
Return on equity TTM	-29.42%
Profit margin	-153.92%
Book value	$29.852
Market capitalisation	USD$2.9 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting PacWest Bancorp shares

There are currently 2.2 million PacWest Bancorp shares held short by investors – that's known as PacWest Bancorp's "short interest". This figure is 8.2% down from 2.4 million last month.

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

PacWest Bancorp's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

PacWest Bancorp's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of PacWest Bancorp shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of PacWest Bancorp shares traded daily (recently around 1.1 million). PacWest Bancorp's SIR currently stands at 1.9. In other words for every 100,000 PacWest Bancorp shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1900 shares are currently held short.

However PacWest Bancorp's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of PacWest Bancorp shares, or, against the total number of tradable PacWest Bancorp shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case PacWest Bancorp's short interest could be expressed as 0.02% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 PacWest Bancorp shares in existence, roughly 20 shares are currently held short) or 0.0246% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable PacWest Bancorp shares, roughly 25 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 PacWest Bancorp.

Find out more about how you can short PacWest Bancorp stock.

PacWest 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 PacWest Bancorp.

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

PacWest Bancorp's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 27.68

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and PacWest Bancorp's overall score of 27.68 (as at 01/01/2019) is nothing to write home about – landing it in it in the 54th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like PacWest 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.).

PacWest Bancorp's environmental score

Environmental score: 0.69/100

PacWest Bancorp's environmental score of 0.69 puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that PacWest Bancorp is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

PacWest Bancorp's social score

Social score: 14.54/100

PacWest Bancorp's social score of 14.54 puts it squarely in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that PacWest Bancorp is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

PacWest Bancorp's governance score

Governance score: 13.94/100

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

PacWest Bancorp's controversy score

Controversy score: 1/5

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

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

PacWest Bancorp was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	27.68
Total ESG percentile	54.06
Environmental score	0.69
Environmental score percentile	3
Social score	14.54
Social score percentile	3
Governance score	13.94
Governance score percentile	3
Level of controversy	1

PacWest Bancorp share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 69.23% of net profits

Recently PacWest Bancorp has paid out, on average, around 69.23% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 4.18% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), PacWest Bancorp shareholders could enjoy a 4.18% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In PacWest Bancorp's case, that would currently equate to about $1 per share.

PacWest Bancorp's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.

PacWest Bancorp's most recent dividend payout was on 10 December 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 27 November 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

PacWest Bancorp share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, PacWest Bancorp's shares have ranged in value from as little as $13.3362 up to $37.3427. 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 PacWest Bancorp's is 1.6212. This would suggest that PacWest 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).

PacWest Bancorp overview

PacWest Bancorp operates as the holding company for Pacific Western Bank that provides commercial banking products and services. The company accepts demand, money market, and time deposits. It also provides real estate loans to professional developers and real estate investors for the acquisition, refinancing, renovation, and construction of commercial real estate properties; small business administration loans; asset-based loans for working capital needs; venture capital loans to support the operations of entrepreneurial companies; and equipment-secured loans and leases. In addition, the company offers consumer loans comprising personal loans, auto loans, home equity lines of credit, revolving lines of credit, and other loans. Further, it provides international banking and multi-state deposit services; money market sweep products; investment advisory and asset management services; treasury and cash management services; telephone banking, remote deposit, and online and mobile banking services; and ATM services. The company offers its products and services to small and mid-sized companies, venture-backed businesses, venture capital and private equity investors, professionals, and other individuals. As of October 14, 2020, it had 72 full-service branches located in the state of California, one branch in Durham, North Carolina, and one branch in Denver, Colorado; and loan production offices. The company was formerly known as First Community Bancorp and changed its name to PacWest Bancorp in April 2008. PacWest Bancorp was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.

Frequently asked questions

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

  Currently 1.722% of PacWest Bancorp shares are held by insiders and 82.627% by institutions.

• How many people work for PacWest Bancorp?

  Latest data suggests 1,835 work at PacWest Bancorp.

• When does the fiscal year end for PacWest Bancorp?

  PacWest Bancorp's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is PacWest Bancorp based?

  PacWest Bancorp's address is: 9701 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90212

• What is PacWest Bancorp's ISIN number?

  PacWest Bancorp's international securities identification number is: US6952631033

• What is PacWest Bancorp's CUSIP number?

  PacWest Bancorp's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 31983B101