East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

04 Aug 2026, 05:36 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC – Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.62.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.9%

EWBC opened at $132.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $136.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.16.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $791.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.East West Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total value of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 84,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,280,926.62. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,511 shares of company stock worth $2,854,021. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,781 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,207,000 after buying an additional 542,149 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.