Zacks Research Has Positive Outlook of EWBC FY2024 Earnings

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for East West Bancorp in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $8.22 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $8.11. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $8.36 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for East West Bancorp’s Q3 2025 earnings at $2.17 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.25 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.25.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $103.34 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.26. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $60.34 and a 12 month high of $107.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in East West Bancorp by 2.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,537.35. This trade represents a 12.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the company’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 directly owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,969 shares of company stock worth $2,625,276 in the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 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.