Key Points
- Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp on May 5 at an average price of $57.33, a transaction worth about $1,146,600, leaving him with 275,252 shares (a 6.77% reduction).
- Cathay beat expectations in its latest quarter with $1.29 EPS versus a $1.19 consensus and revenue of $213.2M (up 14.4% YoY), and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 (annualized $1.52, ~2.7% yield).
- The board has authorized a stock repurchase program, institutional investors own about 75% of the shares, and the company trades with a market cap around $3.82B and a PE of 11.75.
Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 275,252 shares in the company, valued at $15,780,197.16. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.
Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%
Shares of NASDAQ CATY opened at $56.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $41.83 and a 1 year high of $58.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $51.43 and its 200-day moving average is $50.24.
Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $213.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.27 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 23.79% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.
Cathay General Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $150,000.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 4,164,630.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. This is a positive change from Cathay General Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is 31.34%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 781 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 36.0% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 979 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
CATY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.00.
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About Cathay General Bancorp
(
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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