East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target Raised to $145.00 at Citigroup

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $139.00 to $145.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on EWBC. Zacks Research cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Stephens lifted 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. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $121.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.79.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $122.09 on Wednesday. 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 has a 12 month low of $83.11 and a 12 month high of $124.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.25. The stock has a market cap of $16.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,842.68. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting East West Bancorp

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — diluted EPS $2.57 vs. $2.46 consensus, revenue $773.8M, net income $358M, with record loans ($58.1B) and deposits ($68.9B); strong ROE and margin expansion underpin the rally. East West Bancorp Reports Net Income for First Quarter of 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target raises: Citigroup to $145 (buy), UBS to $138 (buy) and DA Davidson to $140 (buy) — these raise the street’s valuation outlook and likely supported buying today. Citigroup price target raise Benzinga coverage of analyst moves
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80/share (annualized yield ~2.6%); ex-dividend date May 4, payable May 18 — supports income investors and signals confidence in cash flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating with a $133 target — a supportive but smaller uplift compared with the larger raises. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials and call transcripts are available for deeper read-through (useful for modeling loan/deposit trends and expense drivers). Q1 results – earnings call presentation Q1 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and coverage note elevated operating expenses partially offsetting NII/fee income gains — if expenses remain elevated, margin pressure could constrain forward EPS expansion. Zacks: Q1 earnings top estimates; expenses rose

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.