California Public Employees Retirement System Boosts Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• CalPERS increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 8% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 279,413 shares worth about $29.8 million. Institutional investors still own a large majority of the stock, at 89.53%.
• East West Bancorp beat second-quarter expectations, reporting EPS of $2.63 versus the $2.61 consensus, with revenue of $791.14 million. The company also said net income reached $364 million and revenue hit a record.
• Business momentum remained strong, as loans and deposits both reached record levels and profitability stayed solid with a 16.0% return on average common equity. Analysts have remained generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 279,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 20,588 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.20% of East West Bancorp worth $29,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $1,530,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $1,044,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased 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 purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $319,523,000 after buying an additional 27,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 141.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 128,368 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,427,000 after buying an additional 75,147 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $133.40 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.67 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $127.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.21. The company has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $791.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,093,742. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting East West Bancorp

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

• Positive Sentiment: East West Bancorp reported Q2 2026 EPS of $2.63, ahead of the $2.61 consensus estimate, and earnings rose from $2.24 a year ago. East West Bancorp earnings report and conference call link
• Positive Sentiment: The company said net income reached $364 million and total revenue hit a record, signaling strong operating performance. East West Bancorp Q2 2026 results press release
• Positive Sentiment: Loans and deposits both reached new records at $59.0 billion and $70.1 billion, respectively, showing continued business expansion and funding strength. East West Bancorp Q2 2026 results press release
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remained solid, with return on average common equity of 16.0% and book value per share up 13% year over year. East West Bancorp Q2 2026 results press release
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recap articles and the earnings call transcript focused on the same core message: East West Bancorp beat expectations and delivered record revenue, reinforcing the upbeat reaction. East West Bancorp Q2 2026 earnings call transcript

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. Truist Financial raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.31.

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.

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