Entropy Technologies LP Makes New $262,000 Investment in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has invested approximately $262,000 in Cathay General Bancorp, acquiring 6,085 shares of the bank's stock.
• Cathay General Bancorp's stock is currently down 2.1%, trading at $47.30 with a market capitalization of $3.27 billion.
• The bank recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, equating to an annual yield of 2.9%.

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,085 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,230,722 shares of the bank's stock worth $201,426,000 after acquiring an additional 12,684 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,970,173 shares of the bank's stock worth $127,807,000 after acquiring an additional 108,672 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,577,657 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,887,000 after acquiring an additional 58,215 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,268,030 shares of the bank's stock worth $60,371,000 after acquiring an additional 6,081 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 957,773 shares of the bank's stock worth $45,600,000 after acquiring an additional 22,055 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens downgraded Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 target price on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.71.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CATY traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.66. 57,267 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 426,895. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Cathay General Bancorp has a twelve month low of $36.06 and a twelve month high of $55.29. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.32.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.10. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 21.44%.The company had revenue of $196.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Cathay General Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.