Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Invests $1.79 Million in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 41,585 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,789,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Cathay General Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 189.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the bank's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $32,805.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,000. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.85% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ CATY opened at $47.99 on Friday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $36.06 and a 1 year high of $55.29. The business's fifty day moving average is $43.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 20.55%. The business 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 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CATY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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