Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $2.80 Million Position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,783 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 22,925 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $2,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 189.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 96.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,411 shares of the bank’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.80.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $43.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.09. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $33.88 and a 12 month high of $55.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.69.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.70%. Analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.34%.

About Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp operates as the holding company for Cathay Bank that offers various commercial banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, including passbook accounts, checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and public funds deposits.