What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for EWBC FY2024 Earnings?

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for East West Bancorp in a report released on Monday, November 25th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $8.29 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $8.22. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $8.37 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for East West Bancorp’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.06 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.11 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.27 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.57 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.23 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.26 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.30 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC opened at $110.05 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $60.34 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.22.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. This trade represents a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.