Voya Investment Management LLC Buys 54,870 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC has significantly increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 259%, acquiring an additional 54,870 shares, bringing its ownership to 76,057 shares valued at approximately $3.27 million.
• Analysts have mixed feelings regarding Cathay General Bancorp, with upgrades to a "hold" rating and target price increases, but also a downgrade to "equal weight" by Stephens, reflecting varying views on the stock's potential.
• Cathay General Bancorp recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34, with a 2.8% dividend yield and authorized a share repurchase program worth $150 million, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 259.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,057 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 54,870 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $3,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CATY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,970,173 shares of the bank's stock valued at $127,807,000 after acquiring an additional 108,672 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,577,657 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,887,000 after acquiring an additional 58,215 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $25,856,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $23,188,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 354,457 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,252,000 after acquiring an additional 8,860 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.93. The stock had a trading volume of 65,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 425,401. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52 week low of $36.06 and a 52 week high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $48.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.84. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.00.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10. The company had revenue of $196.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.04 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 21.44%.Cathay General Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is 32.85%.

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 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CATY shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.