Edgestream Partners L.P. Makes New $2.05 Million Investment in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 47,603 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,048,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned about 0.07% of Cathay General Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,230,722 shares of the bank's stock valued at $201,426,000 after purchasing an additional 12,684 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,519,442 shares of the bank's stock valued at $72,341,000 after purchasing an additional 85,963 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,471,066 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,037,000 after purchasing an additional 72,532 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,268,030 shares of the bank's stock valued at $60,371,000 after buying an additional 6,081 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,116,419 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,153,000 after buying an additional 31,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $180,000. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ CATY traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $48.09. 284,037 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 375,478. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $36.06 and a 1 year high of $55.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. On average, 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 of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is 34.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.