Zacks Research Brokers Raise Earnings Estimates for EWBC

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for East West Bancorp in a report released on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.99 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.97. 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 Q2 2025 earnings at $2.08 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.48 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.19 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.21 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.35 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.24 EPS.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business 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 firm earned $2.02 earnings per share.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $103.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $88.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.10. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $60.26 and a 52 week high of $107.68. 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 cap of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.27.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,625,276 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,832,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 159.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,448,000 after buying an additional 18,166 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $852,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $897,000. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,078,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.