First Trust Advisors LP Buys 16,003 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its Cathay General Bancorp stake by 14.4% in the first quarter, adding 16,003 shares to own 127,143 shares valued at approximately $6.34 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.01% of CATY.
• Cathay General Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $1.37, beating estimates of $1.35, while revenue rose 13.1% year over year to $221.2 million. The stock recently traded near its 52-week high at $63.19.
• The bank maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equivalent to a 2.4% annual yield, and has authorized a share-repurchase program. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $62.25.

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 14.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,143 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 16,003 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.19% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $6,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,050,007 shares of the bank's stock worth $201,930,000 after purchasing an additional 17,444 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,685,203 shares of the bank's stock valued at $81,547,000 after purchasing an additional 105,484 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $41,140,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 669,527 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,398,000 after buying an additional 48,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 580,038 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,068,000 after buying an additional 67,898 shares during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $63.19 on Monday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $43.65 and a 1-year high of $63.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.22.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 24.66% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The business had revenue of $221.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $218.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $150,000.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 4,164,630.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 29.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total transaction of $1,146,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 275,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,780,197.16. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Sun sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $316,550.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,340 shares in the company, valued at $401,385.40. This trade represents a 44.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $2,729,350. 4.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 6th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised Cathay General Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stephens boosted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $49.50 to $53.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.25.

Cathay General Bancorp Profile

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.

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