Zacks Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for EWBC

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for East West Bancorp in a report released on Tuesday, March 4th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $2.04 for the quarter, up from their previous 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 research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens cut shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $89.41 on Thursday. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.78 and a one year high of $113.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $97.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.54. The stock has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, 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 transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

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.