Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8%, owning approximately 4.24% of the bank's stock valued at $127.8 million.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Cathay General Bancorp, with the consensus rating being a "Hold" and an average price target of $49.71.
• Cathay General Bancorp recently announced a $150 million stock repurchase program, indicating the company's belief that its stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,970,173 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 108,672 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 4.24% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $127,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,486 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,770 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 20,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,961 shares of the bank's stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 2.9% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 14,599 shares of the bank's stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CATY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson upped their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stephens cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.71.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of CATY stock traded down $0.84 on Friday, reaching $47.49. 185,207 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 428,896. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52 week low of $36.06 and a 52 week high of $55.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.97. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $46.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.36.

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

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

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.