Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) to Repurchase $150,000.00 billion in Outstanding Stock

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $150,000.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 4,164,630.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $54.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $40.96 and a 12-month high of $55.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $50.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.80.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $213.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.27 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 23.79% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. This is a positive change 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%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CATY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.25.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total transaction of $50,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $100,460. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Chang Liu sold 4,836 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $243,492.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 127,819 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,686.65. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Cathay General Bancorp

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations: CATY reported $1.29 EPS vs. $1.19 expected and revenue of $213.2M (up 14.4% YoY), showing strong profitability and margin expansion. Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Net Income and Strategic …
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a $150 million share buyback — a capital return that signals confidence from management and can support the share price over time. Cathay General Bancorp authorizes $150 million stock buyback program
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst action: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $58 (market perform), offering modest upside relative to current levels. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Management material and call transcripts are available for deeper review — useful for investors looking for detail on capital deployment, reserves and strategic priorities. Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Community/brand activity: Cathay Bank announced its 49th Annual Charity Golf Tournament — reputational/community news with minimal direct impact on financials. Cathay Bank Announces 49th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
• Negative Sentiment: Credit/business mix concern: analysis highlights that loan growth is lagging even as deposit costs ease — investors may be worried about near-term loan-driven revenue growth and margin sustainability. CATY Q1 Deep Dive: Loan Growth Lags as Deposit Costs Ease, Focus on Credit Quality Remains

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.