Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. Purchases 20,500 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282,504 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 20,500 shares during the period. Cathay General Bancorp comprises 2.4% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned 0.40% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $12,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 6.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,501 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,789,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 2.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 354,457 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,860 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $426,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 11.1% during 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 buying an additional 5,785 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

CATY stock traded down $2.06 on Tuesday, hitting $47.20. The company had a trading volume of 411,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,762. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.06 and a 12-month high of $55.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $44.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.42. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.93.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $187.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 34.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,000. This trade represents 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CATY. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.17.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.