Invesco Ltd. Buys 85,963 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,519,442 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 85,963 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 2.13% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $72,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,861,501 shares of the bank's stock valued at $136,236,000 after purchasing an additional 102,724 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,713,650 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,615,000 after buying an additional 20,840 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,471,066 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,037,000 after acquiring an additional 72,532 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,116,419 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,153,000 after acquiring an additional 31,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,231,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

CATY stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.63. 581,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,123. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.27. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $33.88 and a 12 month high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.99.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.70%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CATY. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reduced their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.80.

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.