9,897 Shares in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Bought by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

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

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CATY. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,000. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of CATY traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $48.09. 284,037 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 375,478. Cathay General Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $36.06 and a fifty-two week 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $45.08 and a 200-day moving average of $44.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.34%.

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

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.