Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Makes New Investment in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec has invested approximately $1.33 million in Cathay General Bancorp, acquiring 31,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Cathay General Bancorp's quarterly earnings met analyst expectations, reporting $1.10 EPS, and the company saw a 10.1% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The bank approved a $150 million stock buyback plan, indicating management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 31,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,334,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 2.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 354,457 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,860 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 11.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 58,021 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,473,000 after purchasing an additional 5,785 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $426,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 109.0% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 36,749 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 19,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 310,246 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,771,000 after purchasing an additional 14,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of CATY traded up $0.55 on Thursday, hitting $50.38. 288,856 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 321,151. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.59. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $36.06 and a one year high of $55.29.

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

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.34 dividend. 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 32.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CATY. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens downgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 4th. DA Davidson raised their price target 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, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.71.

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.