Cathay General Bancorp $CATY Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers has reduced its stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ: CATY) by 4.9%, now owning approximately $9.38 million worth of shares.
• Cathay General Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.36 and a yield of 2.8%.
• The company has initiated a $150 million share repurchase plan, indicating that its board believes the stock may be undervalued.

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 217,880 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,187 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.31% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $9,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 2.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 354,457 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,252,000 after acquiring an additional 8,860 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 11.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 58,021 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,473,000 after acquiring an additional 5,785 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $426,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 310,246 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,771,000 after acquiring an additional 14,121 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $23,188,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CATY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens cut Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 target price on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.71.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $47.41. 317,652 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 416,337. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $48.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 1.00. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $36.06 and a 1 year high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.10. The business had revenue of $196.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.04 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 21.44%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is 32.85%.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.