Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $1.37, topping analysts’ expectations by $0.02. Revenue also came in above estimates at $221.2 million versus $218.28 million expected.
• The stock was down 1.1% on the day, even after the earnings beat, trading at $61.36. The company has a market cap of about $4.11 billion and recently traded near its 12-month high.
• Cathay General Bancorp also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share and has an annualized yield of about 2.5%. In addition, the board authorized a share buyback program, signaling confidence in the stock’s valuation.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 23.79%.The firm had revenue of $221.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.28 million.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of CATY stock traded down $0.70 on Wednesday, hitting $61.36. The stock had a trading volume of 721,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 469,739. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.67 and a 200 day moving average of $54.48. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $43.65 and a 12-month high of $63.91. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 0.86.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.34%.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 275,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,780,197.16. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP May K. Chan sold 558 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $31,248.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,808. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 4.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 375.1% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 420,509 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,189,000 after buying an additional 331,997 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,685,203 shares of the bank's stock worth $81,547,000 after acquiring an additional 105,484 shares during the last quarter. HRT Financial LP bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,987,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,910,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 674.4% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 93,282 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,478,000 after acquiring an additional 81,236 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CATY has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.75.

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 an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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