Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Announces Earnings Results

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.10, Zacks reports. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 23.79%.The company had revenue of $213.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.27 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Cathay General Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Cathay General Bancorp’s conference call:

• Delivered solid Q1 results with net income of $86.9 million and diluted EPS of $1.29, while net interest margin expanded 7 bps to 3.43% and tangible book value per share rose to $30.95.
• Executed a securities repositioning—sold $210M of lower‑yield MBS and reinvested $197M at higher yields—resulting in a $15.7M AFS impairment offset by a $17.3M equity valuation gain and expected to add roughly 2–2.5 bps to NIM (about $4M NII) for 2026.
• Loan growth was modest (period‑end loans up 0.2% q/q) and deposits declined 1% (brokered deposits led outflows), but management reiterated full‑year targets of 3.5%–4.5% loan growth and 4%–5% deposit growth while emphasizing disciplined underwriting.
• Asset quality remained solid—allowance increased $13M to $209M (coverage 1.03% / 1.30% excl. residential mortgages), net charge‑offs improved to $2.1M, and nonperforming assets fell to 51 bps.
• Continued shareholder returns and strong capital management with an 11.8% dividend increase to $0.38, completion of the $150M buyback, and board approval of a new $150M repurchase program (subject to regulatory approval), while capital ratios remain above well‑capitalized thresholds.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 2.7%

Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $55.25 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $50.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $40.96 and a 1-year high of $55.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.82.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is 33.48%.

Key Stories Impacting Cathay General Bancorp

Here are the key news stories impacting Cathay General Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat consensus — EPS $1.29 vs. $1.19 expected and revenue $213.2M (+14.4% YoY); margins and ROE remained healthy, supporting the upbeat investor reaction. Cathay General (CATY) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target from $55 to $58 (maintaining a “market perform” rating), signaling modest analyst confidence and incremental upside in the shares. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript and management commentary are available — useful for assessing guidance, loan/ deposit trends and NIM commentary but they contain no dramatic guidance shift. Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Slide deck and official press release from the Q1 release are posted for deeper detail on results, trends and KPIs—worth reviewing for asset quality and margin drivers. Q1 Press Release / Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Some outlets used different framing of the quarter (e.g., “reports lower Q1 earnings” headlines) — this appears to be semantic or metric-specific rather than a contradiction of the EPS beat; investors should check the release for the underlying metrics. TipRanks

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total transaction of $50,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,460. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Chang Liu sold 4,836 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $243,492.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 127,819 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,686.65. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $48,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 319.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $112,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $150,000.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 4,164,630.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.