Richard Sun Sells 5,000 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Stock

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Director Richard Sun sold 5,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $316,550.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $401,385.40. This represents a 44.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Richard Sun also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 29th, Richard Sun sold 20,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total transaction of $1,266,200.00.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $63.19 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.86. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52 week low of $43.65 and a 52 week high of $63.91.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $221.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.28 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $150,000.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 4,164,630.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 25.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,761 shares of the bank’s stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 3,030 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,456 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 6,740 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,395 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,914 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $49.50 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.25.

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.