Marshall Wace LLP Acquires New Shares in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 33,342 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CATY. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,961 shares of the bank's stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the bank's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 21,599 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,789 shares of the bank's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 2.1 %

CATY traded up $0.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.94. The company had a trading volume of 273,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,044. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $41.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.91. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $34.75 and a 12-month high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $187.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is 34.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.60.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

Cathay General Bancorp operates as the holding company for Cathay Bank that offers various commercial banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, including passbook accounts, checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and public funds deposits.