Teacher Retirement System of Texas Takes Position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,897 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $48.20. 434,555 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 377,273. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $44.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.48. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.06 and a 1-year high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.93.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.17 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,000. This trade represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CATY shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report 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 research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp presently has a consensus 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.