Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Reaches New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $58.06 after rising about 1.2% on the day.
• The bank beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.29 EPS versus the $1.19 estimate, while revenue rose 14.4% year over year to $213.2 million.
• Management announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share and a new buyback program, even as several analysts remain cautious with an overall Hold rating and consensus target of $51.75.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $58.06 and last traded at $57.99, with a volume of 22720 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $53.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $213.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.27 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.34%.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $150,000.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 4,164,630.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, SVP May K. Chan sold 558 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $31,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,808. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $243,492.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 127,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,435,686.65. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. 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 sold 25,394 shares of company stock worth $1,421,341. 4.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 351,195 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,511,000 after buying an additional 91,820 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 12,305 shares of the bank's stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 68,258 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,403,000 after buying an additional 7,361 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 290.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 20,810 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,039,000 after buying an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 39,542 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,972,000 after buying an additional 5,609 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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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