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

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a dissappointing 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 trading hands.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CATY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of 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 restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 6th. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Anthony M. Tang sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.45, for a total value of $304,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 204,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,885,525. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,116,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 178,450 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,996,000 after purchasing an additional 24,317 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 970,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,257,000 after purchasing an additional 3,385 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 4.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,654,350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,505,000 after buying an additional 75,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 12.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 738,787 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,680,000 after buying an additional 83,370 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 4.9 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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.