Q4 2024 EPS Estimates for East West Bancorp, Inc. Boosted by Wedbush (NASDAQ:EWBC)

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Equities researchers at Wedbush lifted their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for East West Bancorp in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the financial services provider will earn $2.00 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.96. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $7.92 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for East West Bancorp’s Q1 2025 earnings at $2.00 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.18 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on EWBC. Compass Point lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays initiated 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 objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $75.98 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $41.12 and a 52-week high of $79.54. The stock has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.84 and a 200-day moving average of $68.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. East West Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 40,757.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 103,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,437,000 after buying an additional 103,117 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 5.0% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 31,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 92.7% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 48,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,560,000 after purchasing an additional 23,361 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,243,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $803,502,000 after purchasing an additional 215,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 12.2% during the third quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 279,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,715,000 after purchasing an additional 30,466 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

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.