Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY – Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Stephens from $60.00 to $57.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.
A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.40.
View Our Latest Research Report on Cathay General Bancorp
Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance
Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.75%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.34%.
Insider Activity
In other news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.87, for a total value of $2,114,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 295,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,609,973.24. This trade represents a 11.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $42,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,873. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,500,047 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CATY. EMC Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 954.4% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 10,544 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 9,544 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 24,575 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew 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 valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 821.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 381,764 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,176,000 after purchasing an additional 340,329 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.
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.
Recommended Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Cathay General Bancorp
- Utilities Stocks Explained – How and Why to Invest in Utilities
- Bloom Energy: Powering the Future With Decentralized Energy
- What Investors Need to Know to Beat the Market
- Dividend Powerhouses: Blue-Chip Stocks Built for the Long Haul
- What Are Dividend Challengers?
- Why Traders Are Buying the Dip on Johnson & Johnson Stock
Receive News & Ratings for Cathay General Bancorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cathay General Bancorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.