Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Holdings in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 658,197 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 30,238 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.94% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $28,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CATY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ CATY opened at $48.06 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.93. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52-week low of $36.06 and a 52-week high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The firm had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is 34.34%.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $32,805.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,000. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.85% 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.