Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for East West Bancorp, Inc. Increased by Wedbush (NASDAQ:EWBC)

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Equities research analysts at Wedbush boosted their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for East West Bancorp in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.96 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.95. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for East West Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $7.87 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for East West Bancorp’s Q3 2024 earnings at $2.02 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $8.05 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.05 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.17 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $8.40 EPS.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The company had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on EWBC. Stephens upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.38.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of EWBC opened at $77.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.34. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $41.12 and a twelve month high of $79.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.39.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 727,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,302 shares during the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,795 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $765,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.