DA Davidson Brokers Raise Earnings Estimates for CATY

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) - Research analysts at DA Davidson upped their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for Cathay General Bancorp in a note issued to investors on Friday, June 27th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now forecasts that the bank will post earnings of $1.15 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.07. The consensus estimate for Cathay General Bancorp's current full-year earnings is $4.47 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Cathay General Bancorp's FY2025 earnings at $4.55 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.95 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of CATY stock traded up $0.26 on Monday, reaching $47.99. 355,167 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 370,129. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.93. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $36.06 and a one year high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.50.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.17 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 10.23%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $32,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,000. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,486 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,770 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,513,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 20,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,961 shares of the bank's stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

Cathay General Bancorp operates as the holding company for Cathay Bank that offers various commercial banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, including passbook accounts, checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and public funds deposits.