East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given New $135.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its target price hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $131.00 to $135.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed 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. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.62.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 3.4%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $111.35 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $119.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $111.90 and a 200 day moving average of $106.84. 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 stock has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $754.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.04% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.46%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total value of $3,408,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 858,314 shares in the company, valued at $97,530,219.82. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total transaction of $159,189.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,339.88. This trade represents a 16.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 73,344 shares of company stock valued at $8,184,226 in the last three months. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,807,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968,716 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,819,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,650,000 after purchasing an additional 86,171 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,313,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $459,210,000 after purchasing an additional 19,539 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,464,000 after buying an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.9% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,879,000 after buying an additional 334,429 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Key East West Bancorp News

Here are the key news stories impacting East West Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — EWBC reported $2.52 EPS (vs. $2.48 est.) and revenues of $754.9M, showing year‑over‑year growth and a beat on both headline metrics. East West Bancorp (EWBC) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Record full‑year results and bigger payout — East West reported record 2025 net income of $1.3B (diluted EPS $9.52) and increased the quarterly dividend 33% to $0.80/share, which supports income investors and signals confidence from management. Business Wire: East West Bancorp Reports Record Net Income for 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target uplift — Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $135 with an Outperform rating (roughly ~21% above the current level), indicating continued analyst bullishness on medium‑term upside. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks lifted forward EPS forecasts — Zacks updated multiple quarterly and FY2026/FY2027 EPS estimates higher, reflecting expectations for continued earnings growth (Zacks still carries a Hold rating). (See Zacks research notes for details.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and full disclosure available — Management commentary and slides from the Q4 call are available for investors to review guidance, asset quality and expense drivers. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings mix — while some price targets were raised, major research houses (e.g., Zacks) maintain a Hold rating; investors should read analyst notes for valuation assumptions and multiples.
• Negative Sentiment: Higher operating costs trimmed investor enthusiasm — coverage notes that non‑interest expenses rose year‑over‑year, which weighed on the stock despite the beat and contributed to the intraday selloff. EWBC Stock Dips Despite Q4 Earnings Beat, Revenues & Costs Rise Y/Y

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.