Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) to Issue $0.34 Quarterly Dividend

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 16th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 0.34 per share by the bank on Monday, December 11th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 28th.

Cathay General Bancorp has raised its dividend by an average of 3.1% annually over the last three years. Cathay General Bancorp has a payout ratio of 30.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Cathay General Bancorp to earn $4.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.6%.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CATY opened at $37.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52 week low of $27.24 and a 52 week high of $46.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.16.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 23rd. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.01. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $193.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Cathay General Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CATY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Piper Sandler downgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kim R. Bingham sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.42, for a total transaction of $224,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,565,989.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 32,197 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,321 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 15.0% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,332 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.01% 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.