Vest Financial LLC Purchases New Position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 38,734 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,667,000. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Cathay General Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 189.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the bank's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CATY shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 target price on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $44.61. The company had a trading volume of 370,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,754. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.72 and a 200-day moving average of $45.30. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52 week low of $34.75 and a 52 week high of $55.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.92.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $187.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $32,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,000. This trade represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.85% of the company's stock.

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.