Brokers Issue Forecasts for East West Bancorp, Inc.’s FY2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:EWBC)

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Equities research analysts at DA Davidson reduced their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of East West Bancorp in a report issued on Wednesday, April 17th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $8.21 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $8.28. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $7.86 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for East West Bancorp’s FY2025 earnings at $8.34 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on EWBC. Barclays assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 target price for the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Compass Point increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.15.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $72.88 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $41.12 and a 12 month high of $79.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.70.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The business had revenue of $654.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. East West Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 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.