Short Interest in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Expands By 6.3%

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) saw a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, a growth of 6.3% from the March 31st total of 1,910,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 383,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,302 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,620 shares of the bank’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.2% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 17,103 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY opened at $35.18 on Thursday. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $27.24 and a one year high of $45.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.84.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $339.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

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.