Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.8% to approximately 7.92 million shares, valuing its holdings at $340.97 million, representing about 11.32% ownership.
• Several institutional investors have recently acquired new positions in Cathay General Bancorp, increasing overall institutional ownership to 75.01% of the company's stock.
• Cathay General Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.9%, as well as a $150 million stock buyback plan to repurchase up to 5% of its shares.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,924,073 shares of the bank's stock after selling 64,270 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.32% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $340,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,336,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 27,430 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 2,855 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,023 shares of the bank's stock valued at $905,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CATY traded down $0.0630 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $47.6870. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,600. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.06 and a 12-month high of $55.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

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

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CATY. Stephens lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price objective on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.71.

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.