Cathay General Bancorp $CATY Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 18.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,090 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 11,004 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Cathay General Bancorp were worth $2,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CATY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,348,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 309,063 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,072,000 after acquiring an additional 13,513 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 8.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 305,043 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,645,000 after acquiring an additional 24,615 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 325.6% in the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 202,577 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,223,000 after acquiring an additional 154,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 183,090 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,878,000 after acquiring an additional 8,914 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CATY shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $50,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,460. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

CATY stock opened at $49.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52-week low of $36.06 and a 52-week high of $54.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.38.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.13. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 22.76%.The firm had revenue of $222.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. This is an increase from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 33.48%.

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.