Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,500,000 shares, an increase of 8.7% from the November 30th total of 2,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 306,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.2 days. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.61. 289,166 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 329,541. Cathay General Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $33.88 and a fifty-two week high of $55.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.12.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.01). Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 20.57%. The company had revenue of $359.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CATY shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens upgraded Cathay General Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.75.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 7,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.05, for a total value of $342,947.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 347,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,371,659.15. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $42,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,359 shares in the company, valued at $157,873. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,189 shares of company stock worth $2,500,047 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 19.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 76.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 765 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,264 shares of the bank’s stock worth $999,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.