UBS Group AG Has $4.63 Million Position in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 65% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 95,584 shares worth about $4.63 million.
• Cathay General Bancorp reported stronger-than-expected earnings, posting Q1 EPS of $1.29 versus $1.19 expected, while revenue rose 14.4% year over year to $213.2 million.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend and a share buyback plan, with a $0.38 per share dividend payable June 9 and a new repurchase authorization that management says may signal confidence in the stock.

UBS Group AG reduced its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,584 shares of the bank's stock after selling 177,443 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.14% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $4,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CATY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 150,601 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,230,000 after acquiring an additional 42,868 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 305,043 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,645,000 after acquiring an additional 24,615 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 252.7% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 28,518 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,369,000 after acquiring an additional 20,433 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $745,000. Finally, AK Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $489,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total value of $1,146,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 275,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,780,197.16. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP May K. Chan sold 558 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $31,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,808. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,394 shares of company stock worth $1,421,341. Insiders own 4.53% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CATY opened at $57.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.01. Cathay General Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $41.83 and a fifty-two week high of $58.00.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.10. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 23.79%.The company had revenue of $213.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $150,000.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to buy up to 4,164,630.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CATY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.75.

About Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.

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