Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Director Richard Sun Sells 20,000 Shares

Key Points

• Director Richard Sun sold 20,000 Cathay General Bancorp shares at an average price of $63.31, generating $1.27 million; he later sold an additional 5,000 shares for $316,550. His remaining direct stake fell 73.22% to 7,315 shares.
• Cathay General Bancorp shares traded near their 52-week high at $63.19, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.24 billion and a P/E ratio of 12.34.
• The bank exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.37 in earnings per share and $221.2 million in revenue, while analysts’ consensus rating remained “Hold” with an average price target of $62.25.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) Director Richard Sun sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $1,266,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $463,112.65. This represents a 73.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Thursday, July 30th, Richard Sun sold 5,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $316,550.00.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.19. 563,241 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 525,346. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.04. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $43.65 and a 1-year high of $63.91. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $60.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.18.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $221.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $218.28 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 24.66%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $150,000.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 4,164,630.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on CATY shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens upped their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.25.

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.

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