East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.80 Per Share

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.80 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This is a 33.3% increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60.

East West Bancorp has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 8 consecutive years. East West Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 25.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect East West Bancorp to earn $9.56 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.1%.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.6%

EWBC stock opened at $116.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $119.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $111.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The business had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that East West Bancorp will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reported record 2025 results and Q4 beat — EWBC posted Q4 EPS of $2.52 (vs. $2.48 consensus) and full-year net income of $1.3B ($9.52 diluted EPS); profitability and book-value growth were highlighted. This is the primary catalyst for the rally. Business Wire: East West Bancorp Reports Record Net Income for 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Material dividend hike — the board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.80 (33% increase), implying a ~2.8% yield and signaling strong capital generation and a shareholder-friendly posture. Ex-dividend date set for Feb 2. Business Wire: Dividend Increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target upgrade — Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target from $131 to $135 and kept an “outperform” rating, implying meaningful upside vs. current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Benzinga: KBW Raises Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks updated estimates — Zacks has nudged many quarterly and multi-year EPS forecasts higher (FY2026 to $9.91, FY2027 to $10.64) but retains a “Hold” rating; upward revisions support the fundamental story but the cautious rating tempers the immediate impact. Zacks: EWBC Q4 Metrics vs. Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials available — full press release, slide deck and earnings-call transcript were published, giving investors access to management commentary on credit, margins and capital deployment; useful for conviction but not a direct price driver by itself. Seeking Alpha: Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

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.