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

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $63.72 and last traded at $63.6780, with a volume of 63635 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $62.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $213.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.26 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 23.79%.The company’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.34%.

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

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, SVP May K. Chan sold 558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $31,248.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,808. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total value of $1,146,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 275,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,780,197.16. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 4.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 25.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,761 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 3,030 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 20.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,456 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,708,000 after buying an additional 6,740 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,395 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,738,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $316,000. 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% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.