Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Director Sells $316,550.00 in Stock

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Director Richard Sun sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $316,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $401,385.40. This represents a 44.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Richard Sun also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 29th, Richard Sun sold 20,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $1,266,200.00.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

CATY stock opened at $63.19 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.86. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52 week low of $43.65 and a 52 week high of $63.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 24.66% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The company had revenue of $221.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CATY shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens upped their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $49.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,525 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 319.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

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.