Zacks Research Has Positive Outlook for EWBC FY2024 Earnings

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of East West Bancorp in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, January 23rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $8.34 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $8.33. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $8.38 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for East West Bancorp’s Q3 2026 earnings at $2.34 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.32 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on EWBC. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $103.02 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $101.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.70. The company has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $67.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,740,210. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,194 shares of company stock worth $1,401,063. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 108.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,282,000 after buying an additional 28,549 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,157,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 24,904 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 18,166 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.