Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for East West Bancorp, Inc.’s Q4 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:EWBC)

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Stock analysts at Wedbush dropped their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for East West Bancorp in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.96 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.97. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $86.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $7.90 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for East West Bancorp’s Q1 2025 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.01 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.14 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.15 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target on the stock. Compass Point raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $62.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.36.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $79.11 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.38. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $41.12 and a twelve month high of $79.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.35.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.11% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The business had revenue of $654.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 92.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,409,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,263,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120,772 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $115,369,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,692,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,713,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,279,000 after purchasing an additional 886,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,793,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $321,553,000 after purchasing an additional 756,930 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.89%.

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.