Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $339.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.85 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 27.02%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.32 EPS.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on CATY shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 6th. Truist Financial cut their price target 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. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Anthony M. Tang sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.45, for a total value of $304,150.00. Following the sale, 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 available through this link. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $34,563,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 10.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,058,670 shares of the bank’s stock worth $280,119,000 after acquiring an additional 749,370 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $25,138,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 280.1% during the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 334,678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,633,000 after purchasing an additional 246,622 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,013,000. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 4.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.84.

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.