Zacks Research Has Bullish Forecast for EWBC FY2024 Earnings

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) - Zacks Research increased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for East West Bancorp in a report released on Monday, November 25th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $8.29 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $8.22. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp's current full-year earnings is $8.37 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for East West Bancorp's Q4 2024 earnings at $2.06 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.11 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.27 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.57 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.23 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.26 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.30 EPS.

EWBC has been the subject of several other research reports. Wedbush upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.25.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.05. The company had a trading volume of 527,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 928,067. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $60.34 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The firm has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $93.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were 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 20.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,740,210. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 27.78%.

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.