Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for EWBC Earnings

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Zacks Research lowered 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 forecasts 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 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on EWBC. Barclays lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.08.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $104.54. 93,972 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 983,571. East West Bancorp has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 26.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total transaction of $697,378.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,302,660.45. This represents a 34.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 15,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.73, for a total value of $1,606,393.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 113,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,098,165.69. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 43,220 shares of company stock worth $4,551,488. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 155.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,714,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $692,468,000 after buying an additional 4,696,157 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $174,431,000. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $137,390,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $83,330,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 39.6% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,271,000 after purchasing an additional 920,159 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.