Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Stake in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its Cathay General Bancorp stake by 74.2% in the first quarter, selling 113,622 shares and retaining 39,469 shares worth approximately $1.97 million.
• Institutional ownership remains significant at 75.01%, with several investors—including Royal Bank of Canada, AQR Capital Management and UBS Asset Management—adding to their positions.
• Cathay General Bancorp exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.37 EPS versus the $1.35 consensus and revenue of $221.2 million. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equivalent to a 2.4% annualized yield.

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 74.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,469 shares of the bank's stock after selling 113,622 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $1,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,761 shares of the bank's stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 3,030 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,456 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 6,740 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,395 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $316,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 183,090 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,878,000 after purchasing an additional 8,914 shares during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total transaction of $1,146,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 275,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,780,197.16. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP May K. Chan sold 558 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $31,248.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $150,808. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 4.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CATY stock opened at $62.92 on Monday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52-week low of $43.65 and a 52-week high of $63.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.76.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $221.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.28 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 24.66%.Cathay General Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

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

Cathay General Bancorp Company 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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