Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of EWBC Q1 Earnings

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for East West Bancorp in a research report issued on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the financial services provider will earn $2.43 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.39. Zacks Research has a “Hold” 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 2026 earnings at $2.50 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.58 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.54 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.05 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.57 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.75 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $11.73 EPS.

EWBC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group set a $125.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price objective on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.14.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $117.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.91. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.The firm had revenue of $754.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 EPS.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $1,017,325.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719,698.50. This represents a 37.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total transaction of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at $643,842.68. This represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 120,585 shares of company stock worth $14,016,504. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,968,716 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,981,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $559,822,000 after purchasing an additional 106,998 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,620,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,329,000 after purchasing an additional 306,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about East West Bancorp

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised multiple quarterly and annual EPS forecasts for EWBC — notable bumps include Q1 2026 2.39→2.43, Q2 2026 2.47→2.50, Q3 2026 2.55→2.58, Q4 2026 2.50→2.54, Q1 2027 2.53→2.57 and Q4 2027 2.68→2.75; Zacks also lifted FY2026 to 10.05 from 9.91 and published an FY2028 view at 11.73. The upward revisions imply stronger expected earnings momentum, which is likely being priced into the stock. Zacks estimate revisions
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the upgrades, Zacks keeps a “Hold” rating on EWBC — positive estimate revisions improve the outlook but the unchanged rating tempers expectations for a major re‑rating or buy recommendation. Zacks rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports for mid‑February show anomalous/zero values and NaN increases (data likely erroneous or incomplete). This odd short‑interest print appears not to be exerting meaningful pressure on the share price today. Short interest data

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.