Caxton Associates LP Trims Stock Holdings in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Caxton Associates LP decreased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 68.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,979 shares of the bank's stock after selling 12,913 shares during the quarter. Caxton Associates LP's holdings in Cathay General Bancorp were worth $285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 189.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the bank's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the bank's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CATY shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on 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. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.60.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CATY traded up $2.26 during trading on Monday, hitting $45.20. 233,160 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 353,995. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $34.75 and a 12-month high of $55.29. 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 fifty day moving average price of $41.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.