Zacks Research Issues Negative Outlook for EWBC Earnings

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of East West Bancorp in a report issued on Tuesday, June 24th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $2.19 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 several other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson lowered their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.85.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $98.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 1.34 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 one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $90.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.37.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in East West Bancorp by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 17,795 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,781 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 178.5% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 8,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $1,203,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.64%.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.

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