What is Zacks Research’s Estimate for EWBC FY2024 Earnings?

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of East West Bancorp in a report released on Monday, December 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $8.33 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $8.29. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $8.38 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for East West Bancorp’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.10 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.04 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.12 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.60 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.25 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.28 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.34 EPS.

EWBC has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Compass Point lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.17.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC opened at $103.61 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $98.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $985,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,193 shares in the company, valued at $11,543,510.50. This represents a 7.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $4,157,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 159.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 18,166 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 24,904 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $852,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,287,000 after purchasing an additional 123,376 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.