Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Announces Earnings Results

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.13, Zacks reports. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 10.60%.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $52.30. 326,354 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 350,775. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.32. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.06 and a 12 month high of $53.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.85.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CATY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Chang Liu sold 5,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.24, for a total transaction of $238,829.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,016,022.72. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.83, for a total transaction of $46,830.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,490. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 38,755 shares of company stock worth $1,820,148 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $345,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Harvest Investment Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $427,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $3,910,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised 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 during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.