DA Davidson Cuts Earnings Estimates for East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at DA Davidson lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for East West Bancorp in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 2nd. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.98 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.01. DA Davidson currently has a "Buy" rating and a $118.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp's current full-year earnings is $8.85 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for East West Bancorp's FY2026 earnings at $9.51 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on EWBC. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.15.

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East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $73.32. 486,210 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 890,249. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $92.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.61. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.78 and a one year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.81%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 86.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 6,002 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 16,592 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $303,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,137,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $250,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.