Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 32,804 Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 32,804 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,636,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CATY. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 1,274,076.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 484,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,430,000 after purchasing an additional 484,149 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,550,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $1,505,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $41,140,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $6,355,000. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CATY shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 6th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stephens lifted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.25.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CATY opened at $63.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $44.23 and a 12 month high of $64.29. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.32.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 24.66%.The firm had revenue of $221.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 29.69%.

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

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, Director Richard Sun sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $316,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,385.40. This trade represents a 44.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.53% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Company 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.