Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $60.12 after recently closing at $59.49.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.29 per share on revenue of $213.2 million, both above analyst estimates, with revenue up 14.4% from a year earlier.
• Cathay also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share and continues a share repurchase program, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $51.75.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $60.12 and last traded at $59.9410, with a volume of 260989 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CATY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.75.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.08.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.10. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 23.79% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The firm had revenue of $213.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.34%.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $150,000.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 4,164,630.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total value of $1,146,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 275,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,780,197.16. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Chang Liu sold 4,836 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $243,492.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 127,819 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,686.65. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,341. 4.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,925 shares of the bank's stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,068 shares of the bank's stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 979 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 57,646 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,788,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,036 shares of the bank's stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.

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