Analysts Offer Predictions for East West Bancorp, Inc.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:EWBC)

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Analysts at Wedbush lifted their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for East West Bancorp in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the financial services provider will earn $1.96 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.95. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $7.87 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for East West Bancorp’s Q3 2024 earnings at $2.02 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $8.05 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.05 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.17 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $8.40 EPS.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 26.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on EWBC. Barclays began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Compass Point boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $77.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.34. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $41.12 and a 52-week high of $79.54.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 727,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,348,000 after acquiring an additional 3,302 shares during the period. Palouse Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,795 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. Finally, JB Capital LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $765,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

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.