Wall Street analysts expect Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) to report earnings of $0.85 per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Three analysts provided earnings estimates for Cathay General Bancorp, with the highest EPS estimate of $0.88 and the lowest estimate of $0.82. Cathay General Bancorp reported earnings of $0.92 per share in the same quarter last year, suggesting a negative 7.6% year-over-year growth rate. The company is expected to release its next quarterly earnings report on Monday, April 25.

According to Zacks, analysts expect Cathay General Bancorp to report annual earnings of $3.77 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.68 to $3.90. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect the company to post earnings of $4.31 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.03 to $4.70. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share calculations are an average average based on a survey of analysts who cover Cathay General Bancorp.

Cathay General Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CATY) last reported quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 27. The bank reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.99 for the quarter, beating the Zacks consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.07. The company posted revenue of $175.26 million in the quarter, compared to $166.02 million expected by analysts. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 41.32% and a return on equity of 12.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter increased by 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. In the same period a year earlier, the company posted earnings of $0.89 per share.

Separately, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a target price of $52.00 for the company in a Tuesday, January 11 report.

CATY stock traded at $1.96 during Friday’s trading, hitting $44.59. 538,836 shares of the company were traded, compared to its average volume of 328,891. The company has a leverage ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.37. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52-week low of $33.44 and a 52-week high of $46.96. The company has a fifty-day simple moving average of $43.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.56.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 9. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 29 received a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 26. This is a boost from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a dividend of $1.76 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Institutional investors have recently changed their stake in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 2.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,396,002 shares of the bank worth $291,107,000 after acquiring an additional 177,449 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,727,585 shares of the bank valued at $146,718,000 after acquiring an additional 241,094 shares last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,902,943 shares of the bank valued at $120,155,000 after acquiring 12,524 additional shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,098,896 shares of the bank valued at $86,873,000 after acquiring 78,453 additional shares last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,549,096 shares of the bank valued at $60,972,000 after acquiring an additional 253,749 shares last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.52% of the company’s shares.

About Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp is a holding company that provides financial services. It offers commercial mortgages, commercial loans, small business administration loans, residential mortgages, home construction loans, home equity lines of credit and personal installment loans for the automobile, household and other consumer expenses.

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