Wedbush Research Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) – Equities researchers at Wedbush lowered their FY2025 EPS estimates for Cathay General Bancorp in a report issued on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the bank will post earnings of $4.25 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.85. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Cathay General Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $3.92 per share.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.04). Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 24.41% and a return on equity of 13.02%. The firm had revenue of $339.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.40.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

CATY stock opened at $35.53 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.81. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $27.24 and a 12-month high of $45.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $3,116,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in 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 grew its holdings in 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 grew its holdings 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 worth $57,505,000 after purchasing an additional 75,749 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $25,680,000 after purchasing an additional 83,370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Anthony M. Tang sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $8,885,525. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

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.