Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Short Interest Up 8.7% in December

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

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CATY traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.61. 289,166 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 329,541. The company’s 50 day moving average is $49.67 and its 200 day moving average is $44.36. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $33.88 and a one year high of $55.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $42,300.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 7,289 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.05, for a total transaction 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 approximately $16,371,659.15. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,500,047. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 332.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 19,458 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,713,650 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,615,000 after buying an additional 20,840 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,758,777 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,489,000 after buying an additional 87,847 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 104.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,690 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,257,000 after buying an additional 74,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth $378,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.