Zacks Research Issues Positive Forecast for EWBC Earnings

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) – Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of East West Bancorp in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects 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.

Several other research analysts have also commented on EWBC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.14.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $117.83 on Friday. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $123.82. The company has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $115.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.95.

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

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at $643,842.68. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $706,894.36. This trade represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 120,585 shares of company stock valued at $14,016,504. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 1,034.8% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $539,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 46,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,210,000 after buying an additional 11,676 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 14,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,644,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

More East West Bancorp News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised multiple quarterly and annual EPS forecasts for EWBC — notable bumps include Q1 2026 2.39→2.43, Q2 2026 2.47→2.50, Q3 2026 2.55→2.58, Q4 2026 2.50→2.54, Q1 2027 2.53→2.57 and Q4 2027 2.68→2.75; Zacks also lifted FY2026 to 10.05 from 9.91 and published an FY2028 view at 11.73. The upward revisions imply stronger expected earnings momentum, which is likely being priced into the stock. Zacks estimate revisions
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the upgrades, Zacks keeps a “Hold” rating on EWBC — positive estimate revisions improve the outlook but the unchanged rating tempers expectations for a major re‑rating or buy recommendation. Zacks rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports for mid‑February show anomalous/zero values and NaN increases (data likely erroneous or incomplete). This odd short‑interest print appears not to be exerting meaningful pressure on the share price today. Short interest data

About East West Bancorp

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.