On Wednesday, Wells Fargo adjusted its stock price target for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:EWBC), lifting it to $105.00 from the previous $97.00. The firm maintained its Overweight rating on the bank's stock.
The revision follows East West Bancorp's reported operating earnings per share (EPS) of $2.07, which surpassed the analyst's estimate by $0.05 and the consensus by $0.02. The performance was attributed to stronger-than-expected net interest income (NII), fees, and provision.
The reported NII for East West Bancorp showed a significant quarterly increase of 3.5%, double the estimate, driven by a better net interest margin (NIM) and improved deposit growth. This led to an increase in cash and securities holdings.
Despite a slight quarterly decline in NIM by 3 basis points, it beat the forecasted 4 basis point drop, primarily due to lower funding costs. Management's proactive approach in pricing down previous certificate of deposit (CD) specials, which are now approximately 100 basis points below the rates for the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, played a role in this performance.
The bank's management has been particularly aggressive with the repricing of CDs. Upcoming CD maturities are substantial, with $8 billion expected in both the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, and another $4 billion in the second quarter of 2026.
This strategic repricing, along with balance sheet growth, is fueling management's optimism for the fourth quarter's NII, despite Wells Fargo's own models predicting a modest decline.
In light of these results, Wells Fargo has increased its EPS forecasts for East West Bancorp for the fiscal years 2024, 2025, and 2026 to $8.26, $8.53, and $9.75, up from the previous projections of $8.14, $8.03, and $9.58, respectively.
The new stock price target of $105.00 is based on 12.3 times the firm's fiscal year 2025 EPS estimate. This adjustment reflects the bank's strong quarterly performance and the positive outlook provided by its management.
In other recent news, East West Bancorp has exceeded third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations. The company reported a net income of $299 million, or $2.14 per diluted share, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $2.06 per share.
Revenue was reported at $657 million, outperforming expectations of $642.2 million. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, revenue increased by 3%, with growth in both net interest income and fee income.
Following these developments, Citi analyst has updated the financial outlook for East West Bancorp, raising the price target from $103.00 to $109.00, while maintaining a Buy rating for the company's stock.
The analyst anticipates the strength of East West Bancorp's asset-sensitive balance sheet to sustain the net interest margin at its current levels. This is part of recent trends in the company's performance, including a 6% quarter-over-quarter and 19% year-over-year increase in the company's book value per share to $55.30.
InvestingPro Insights
East West Bancorp's recent performance and Wells Fargo's positive outlook are further supported by real-time data from InvestingPro. The bank's market capitalization stands at $12.53 billion, with a P/E ratio of 11.51, indicating a potentially attractive valuation relative to its earnings. This aligns with Wells Fargo's increased price target and Overweight rating.
InvestingPro Tips highlight East West Bancorp's strong dividend history, having raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years and maintained payments for 26 years. This consistency in dividend growth, coupled with a current dividend yield of 2.43%, underscores the bank's financial stability and commitment to shareholder returns.
The bank's profitability is evident from its impressive operating income margin of 65.05% for the last twelve months as of Q2 2024. This robust margin supports Wells Fargo's positive EPS revisions and suggests that East West Bancorp is efficiently managing its operations.
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