Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 96.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,818 shares of the bank's stock after selling 369,946 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Cathay General Bancorp were worth $509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 14,674 shares of the bank's stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 3,490 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 44,179 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,103,000 after acquiring an additional 9,403 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 189.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the bank's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 109.0% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 36,749 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 19,165 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value 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 $180,000. This trade represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CATY stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.24. 1,696,123 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 372,750. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50 day moving average is $42.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.80. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $35.97 and a 1 year high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.17 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 20.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's 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.