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

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of East West Bancorp in a research report issued on Monday, November 25th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $8.29 for the year, up from their prior estimate 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.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. DA Davidson raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.25.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $110.05 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.27. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $60.34 and a one year high of $113.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.22.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total transaction of $147,975.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. The trade was a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.