DA Davidson Has Pessimistic View of CATY FY2025 Earnings

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) – DA Davidson cut their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note issued to investors on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now forecasts that the bank will post earnings per share of $4.56 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $4.57. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Cathay General Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $4.47 per share.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Stephens lowered Cathay General Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY opened at $47.79 on Wednesday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.06 and a 1-year high of $55.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.09 and its 200-day moving average is $45.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.10. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 21.44%.The company had revenue of $196.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Cathay General Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CATY. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,293 shares of the bank’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3,878.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 87,050 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,746,000 after acquiring an additional 84,862 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter worth $1,667,000. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 20,747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

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.