What is Zacks Research's Forecast for EWBC FY2024 Earnings?

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of East West Bancorp in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, December 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $8.33 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $8.29. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp's current full-year earnings is $8.38 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for East West Bancorp's Q4 2024 earnings at $2.10 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.04 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.12 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.60 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.25 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.28 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.34 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on EWBC. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.17.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock traded up $1.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.43. 365,775 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 917,773. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The business 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $652,223,000 after acquiring an additional 136,528 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $439,763,000 after buying an additional 75,024 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,231,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $350,152,000 after buying an additional 96,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $216,438,000 after acquiring an additional 122,738 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,822,886 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $133,480,000 after acquiring an additional 118,658 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,740,210. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

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.