Q1 EPS Forecast for East West Bancorp Increased by Analyst

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for East West Bancorp in a report released on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $2.43 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.39. Zacks Research has a “Hold” rating on the stock. 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 $2.50 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.58 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.54 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.05 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.57 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.75 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $11.73 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on EWBC. UBS Group set a $125.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.14.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock opened at $117.24 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $123.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $754.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 808,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 120,585 shares of company stock valued at $14,016,504 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 127.6% in the second quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.