East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $132.3571.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $120.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.43. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $88.26 and a 12-month high of $127.51.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.94% 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. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 118.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after buying an additional 19,178 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about East West Bancorp

Here are the key news stories impacting East West Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised several EPS estimates for East West Bancorp (EWBC), including FY2026 to $10.40 and FY2028 to $11.79, signaling improving earnings expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company was highlighted as a strong momentum stock, which may attract traders looking for stocks with favorable technical and style-score characteristics. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A MarketBeat week-in-review piece noted a broader market recovery and said earnings season could be a catalyst for stocks, but it did not provide company-specific news for EWBC. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One article discussed EWBC as a possible high-growth dividend stock, but it was framed as an evaluation rather than a new corporate development. Article Title

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.