Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for EWBC Earnings

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2027 earnings per share estimates for East West Bancorp in a research report issued on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $2.42 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.48. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. 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 Q2 2027 earnings at $2.50 EPS.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $627.36 million for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 27.16%.

EWBC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.08.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $102.82 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $104.22 and its 200-day moving average is $100.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 15,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.73, for a total transaction of $1,606,393.23. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 113,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,098,165.69. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total value of $1,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,551,820. This represents a 18.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 43,220 shares of company stock valued at $4,551,488 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968,716 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,819,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,650,000 after buying an additional 86,171 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,313,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $459,210,000 after buying an additional 19,539 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.2% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,005,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,525,000 after buying an additional 46,717 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,464,000 after buying an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.