Wedbush Predicts Increased Earnings for East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Analysts at Wedbush lifted their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for East West Bancorp in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $2.09 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.02. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $8.20 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for East West Bancorp’s FY2026 earnings at $8.85 EPS.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS.

EWBC has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.46.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $97.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.66 and a 200 day moving average of $78.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.29. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $51.40 and a fifty-two week high of $98.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 490.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,509.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.