Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 16,576 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,048 shares of the bank's stock after selling 16,576 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $2,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 104.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,690 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,257,000 after purchasing an additional 74,394 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 96.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,411 shares of the bank's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 24,575 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 68.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,730 shares of the bank's stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 954.4% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 10,544 shares of the bank's stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 9,544 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $180,000. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ CATY traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.85. 271,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 360,190. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $34.75 and a one year high of $55.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.17.

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.