Insider Selling: Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) EVP Sells 960 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: EVP Albert Sun sold 960 Cathay General Bancorp shares for approximately $62,352, at an average price of $64.95.
• Quarterly results: The bank reported $1.43 in earnings per share, slightly below analysts’ $1.45 estimate, while revenue of $230.55 million exceeded expectations.
• Market outlook: CATY shares recently traded near their one-year high, while analysts hold a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $62.25. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, yielding about 2.4%.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) EVP Albert Sun sold 960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.95, for a total value of $62,352.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY stock traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, reaching $64.66. The company had a trading volume of 760,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,043. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $44.57 and a one year high of $65.25. The business's 50-day moving average is $61.42 and its 200 day moving average is $57.17.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $230.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.45 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 25.32% and a return on equity of 12.14%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.04%.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $604,644,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 0.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,050,007 shares of the bank's stock valued at $201,930,000 after buying an additional 17,444 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $40,799,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $26,052,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $25,450,000. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens raised their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Benchmark upgraded Cathay General Bancorp to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.25.

About Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions, with a particular focus on serving the Chinese American and broader communities in the markets where it operates.

Cathay Bank offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial lending, small-business financing, consumer loans, treasury management and other traditional banking services.

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