Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of EWBC Q1 Earnings

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) - Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for East West Bancorp in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, March 4th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $2.04 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.03. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp's current full-year earnings is $8.85 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for East West Bancorp's FY2025 earnings at $8.64 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.35 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.36 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on EWBC. Barclays lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.38.

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East West Bancorp Stock Down 5.3 %

EWBC traded down $4.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $84.39. 1,649,447 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 858,641. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $97.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,197,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,359,511,000 after acquiring an additional 70,503 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,990,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $765,167,000 after purchasing an additional 107,665 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $439,763,000 after purchasing an additional 75,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $423,148,000 after buying an additional 186,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $289,052,000 after buying an additional 437,676 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,022. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

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.