Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Sells 8,224 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP significantly reduced its stake in Cathay General Bancorp, lowering its holdings by 60.8% in the first quarter to 5,296 shares, valued at $228,000.
• Cathay General Bancorp reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.10, meeting analysts' expectations, with revenues up 10.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $150 million share buyback plan, indicating confidence in its stock's value, along with a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share.

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP reduced its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 60.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,296 shares of the bank's stock after selling 8,224 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP's holdings in Cathay General Bancorp were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 354,457 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,252,000 after acquiring an additional 8,860 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 58,021 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,473,000 after acquiring an additional 5,785 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 44,179 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,103,000 after acquiring an additional 9,403 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $426,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 109.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 36,749 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 19,165 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

CATY stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $49.78. 54,428 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 421,573. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.97. Cathay General Bancorp has a twelve month low of $36.06 and a twelve month high of $55.29. 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 (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10. The business had revenue of $196.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.04 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 21.44% and a return on equity of 10.39%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CATY. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Stephens downgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.71.

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.