Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $36.62, but opened at $35.15. Cathay General Bancorp shares last traded at $34.23, with a volume of 86,655 shares.

The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.04). Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 27.02%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 EPS.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CATY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com lowered Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Anthony M. Tang sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.45, for a total transaction of $304,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 204,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,885,525. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $109,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 16.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,559 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 545.5% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 22,160.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the bank’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 4,432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.83.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.