Zacks Research Has Bullish Forecast for EWBC Q1 Earnings

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of East West Bancorp in a research note issued on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.43 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.39. Zacks Research has a “Hold” 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 2026 earnings at $2.50 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.58 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.54 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.05 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.57 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.75 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $11.73 EPS.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share.

EWBC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $125.00 target price on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.14.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.6%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $117.24 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $123.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.82.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 127.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.6% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $1,017,325.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719,698.50. The trade was a 37.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This trade represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 120,585 shares of company stock valued at $14,016,504 in the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.61%.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.