Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 88,574 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 2.1%, owning 4,142,148 shares worth approximately $178 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have varied ratings on Cathay General Bancorp, with an average target price of $49.71 and a consensus rating of "Hold".
• The bank has approved a $150 million stock buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the shares are undervalued.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,142,148 shares of the bank's stock after selling 88,574 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.92% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $178,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $15,252,000 after buying an additional 8,860 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in 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. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 44,179 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 9,403 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $426,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 109.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY stock traded up $2.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.15. The stock had a trading volume of 501,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,601. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $36.06 and a one year 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. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $46.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.97.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 firm had revenue of $196.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CATY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price objective on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on 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, Stephens downgraded Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.71.

Cathay General Bancorp 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.