Vanguard Group Inc. Has $364.61 Million Stock Position in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.5% in Q4, holding 7,534,892 shares—about 11.07% of the company—valued at $364.61 million.
• Cathay beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.29 versus $1.19 expected and reported revenue of $213.2 million (up 14.4% year-over-year); analysts’ consensus rating is "Hold" with a $52 price target.
• The bank increased its quarterly dividend to $0.38 (annualized $1.52, ~2.7% yield) and its Board announced a stock buyback program, while several insiders have recently sold shares.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,534,892 shares of the bank's stock after selling 41,170 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.07% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $364,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,579,719 shares of the bank's stock worth $75,842,000 after purchasing an additional 53,621 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 375.1% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 420,509 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,189,000 after purchasing an additional 331,997 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 25.0% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 386,291 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,546,000 after purchasing an additional 77,228 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 8.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 305,043 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,645,000 after buying an additional 24,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 197,969 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,504,000 after buying an additional 31,270 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CATY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 0.4%

CATY opened at $57.32 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $51.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Cathay General Bancorp has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $58.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.87.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $213.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.27 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 23.79% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. This is an increase from Cathay General Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.34%.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $150,000.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 4,164,630.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP May K. Chan sold 558 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $31,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $150,808. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Chang Liu sold 4,836 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $243,492.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 127,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,435,686.65. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Profile

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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