Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,050,007 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,444 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $201,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,140,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1,274,076.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 484,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,430,000 after buying an additional 484,149 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 375.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 420,509 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,189,000 after buying an additional 331,997 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $7,426,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $6,355,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CATY stock opened at $62.92 on Friday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $43.65 and a 12 month high of $63.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.72.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 24.66%.The business had revenue of $221.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $150,000.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to buy up to 4,164,630.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.69%.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total transaction of $1,146,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 275,252 shares in the company, valued at $15,780,197.16. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP May K. Chan sold 558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $31,248.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,808. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 4.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.75.

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.