FY2024 EPS Forecast for East West Bancorp Raised by Analyst

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of East West Bancorp in a report released on Thursday, January 23rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $8.34 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $8.33. 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 Q3 2026 earnings at $2.34 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.32 EPS.

EWBC has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $103.02 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $101.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $67.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,194 shares of company stock valued at $1,401,063 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 416.8% during the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 24,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after buying an additional 19,589 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 366,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,131,000 after buying an additional 23,507 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 100,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,699,000 after acquiring an additional 15,475 shares during the last quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,408,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, JB Capital LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 55,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.