DA Davidson Predicts Reduced Earnings for East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Equities research analysts at DA Davidson lowered their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for East West Bancorp in a report released on Wednesday, April 2nd. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $8.60 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $8.62. DA Davidson currently has a “Buy” rating and a $118.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $8.85 per share.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stephens lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Compass Point upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $74.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $68.78 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $93.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.48.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $26,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the 4th 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 period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

About East West Bancorp

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.