East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• East West reported EPS of $2.57, beating estimates by $0.11, with revenue of $773.8M — revenue was up 11.8% year‑over‑year and EPS rose from $2.08 a year earlier.
• The bank delivered a record quarter for loans, deposits and fee income (deposits +9% YoY, loans +7%, fee income +12% to $99M) and raised full‑year managed income guidance to 6%–8%, with NIM expected to be flat to modestly positive.
• Capital and shareholder returns remain strong (CET1 15.1%); the firm repurchased ~938k shares for $98M and hiked the quarterly dividend to $0.80 ($3.20 annualized), but management warned of ongoing deposit pricing pressure and expects 7%–9% expense growth.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.The business's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from East West Bancorp's conference call:

• East West delivered a record quarter for loans, deposits, and fee income — deposits +9% YoY (non‑interest‑bearing up nearly $800M), loans +7% YoY, and fee income +12% YoY to $99M with strong wealth management momentum.
• Quarterly net interest income rose to $671M and management raised full‑year managed income guidance to 6%–8% (from 5%–7%) driven by a “higher for longer” rate outlook; NIM is expected to be flat to modestly positive.
• Capital and shareholder returns remain strong: CET1 15.1%, tangible common equity 10.3%; repurchased ~938k shares for $98M (about $117M authority remaining) and paid ~$111M in dividends after increasing the payout.
• Management warned of ongoing deposit pricing pressure and a flattening of prior CD roll‑down benefits, noted some Q1 capital‑call draws already paid down in Q2 (adding volatility to loan balances), and expects 7%–9% expense growth as it invests in cyber/AI and growth initiatives.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $120.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $77.02 and a 12-month high of $123.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.16.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. UBS Group raised shares of East West Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was 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 directly owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,842.68. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value 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 represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 106,998 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised 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 during the period. 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 worth $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,713,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $423,619,000 after purchasing an additional 318,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,051,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $207,146,000 after purchasing an additional 391,059 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.