Q2 EPS Estimates for East West Bancorp Cut by Zacks Research

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2027 earnings estimates for shares of East West Bancorp in a note issued to investors on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $2.57 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.61. Zacks Research currently 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 Q3 2027 earnings at $2.70 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.58 EPS.

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

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group set a $125.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.14.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $117.83 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.99. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $123.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. 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

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $706,894.36. This trade represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.90, for a total value of $848,896.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,762,824.60. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 120,585 shares of company stock valued at $14,016,504. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.