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

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened 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 traded.

The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $339.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.85 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 24.41% and a return on equity of 13.16%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 EPS.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CATY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Anthony M. Tang sold 7,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 204,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,885,525. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CATY. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $34,563,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 10.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,058,670 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $280,119,000 after buying an additional 749,370 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $25,138,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 280.1% in the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 334,678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,633,000 after buying an additional 246,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $6,013,000. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 1.8 %

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 firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.81.

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.