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

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $65.25 and last traded at $64.4330, with a volume of 12,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark raised shares of Cathay General Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $49.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.25.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.10.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $230.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.45 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 25.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is presently 28.04%.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $99,952.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,554.14. This trade represents a 40.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Sun sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.31, for a total value of $62,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at $137,082. This trade represents a 31.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,996,362. Company insiders own 4.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CATY. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the bank’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.0% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,068 shares of the bank’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.2% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 36,078 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $31,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

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.