Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires Shares of 600,885 Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp, acquiring 600,885 shares valued at approximately $25.86 million, representing around 0.86% of the company.
• Several institutional investors have also adjusted their stakes in Cathay General Bancorp, collectively owning over 75% of the company's stock.
• The bank recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, with a 2.7% dividend yield, and initiated a stock buyback program allowing for the repurchase of up to $150 million in shares.

Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 600,885 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $25,856,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.86% of Cathay General Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CATY. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $23,188,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $127,807,000 after buying an additional 108,672 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $4,587,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 3,878.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 87,050 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,746,000 after buying an additional 84,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 46.4% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 259,783 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,178,000 after buying an additional 82,374 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CATY. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stephens lowered Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.71.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.91. 317,262 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 353,306. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.28 and a 200 day moving average of $44.47. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.06 and a 1-year high of $55.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 1.00.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.10. The firm had revenue of $196.61 million during 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.85%.

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.