Key Points
- CEO sale: Cathay CEO Chang Liu sold 4,836 shares at an average $50.35 (total $243,492.60) under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan, trimming his stake by 3.65% to 127,819 shares (≈$6.44M).
- Strong quarterly results: Cathay beat estimates with Q EPS of $1.33 vs. $1.20 and revenue of $222.83M vs. $211.76M, and the stock trades with a market cap of about $3.45B and a PE of 11.35.
- Dividend increase: The board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.38 (from $0.34), an annualized $1.52 representing a 3.0% yield and a payout ratio of ~33.5%.
Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) CEO Chang Liu sold 4,836 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 127,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,435,686.65. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 0.3%
Shares of CATY opened at $51.51 on Wednesday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52-week low of $36.60 and a 52-week high of $54.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $50.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.82.
Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.13. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 22.76% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The company had revenue of $222.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Cathay General Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.48%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.50.
Get Our Latest Report on CATY
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CATY. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,761 shares of the bank's stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 3,030 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,456 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,708,000 after acquiring an additional 6,740 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,395 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,738,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $316,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 183,090 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,878,000 after acquiring an additional 8,914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.
Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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