Q1 EPS Estimate for East West Bancorp Increased by Analyst

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for East West Bancorp in a research report issued on Tuesday, March 4th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.04 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate 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 equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens downgraded East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” 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 given 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 target price of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $90.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $97.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.57. The company has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $68.78 and a 12-month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in 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.