Wedbush Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Wedbush reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $44.00 price objective on the bank’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Cathay General Bancorp’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.90 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.96 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.04 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $4.00 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.99 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.03 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.10 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.12 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.25 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered Cathay General Bancorp from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $39.00.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ CATY opened at $34.96 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.79. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $27.24 and a one year high of $45.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.04). Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 24.41%. The business had revenue of $339.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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 $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is 30.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $304,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 204,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,885,525. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $109,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 16.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 545.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 22,160.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 4,432 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.