Q1 EPS Forecast for East West Bancorp Decreased by Analyst

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for East West Bancorp in a research report issued on Tuesday, June 24th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $2.19 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.20. 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 $2.26 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.25 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.12 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.34 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.80 EPS.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 25.73%.

EWBC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.85.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $101.11. 1,304,149 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 930,858. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The business's 50-day moving average is $91.56 and its 200-day moving average is $92.18.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 928,314 shares in the company, valued at $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% during the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.