Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $56.30 and last traded at $55.73, with a volume of 354985 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CATY shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 2.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.82.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.10. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 23.79%.The firm had revenue of $213.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is 31.34%.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $150,000.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 4,164,630.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, CEO Chang Liu sold 4,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $243,492.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 127,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,435,686.65. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP May K. Chan sold 558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 101.8% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 781 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 36.0% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 979 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.