Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys Shares of 9,897 Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,897 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $32,805.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,000. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of CATY stock opened at $48.73 on Friday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.06 and a 1-year high of $55.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $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 company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.34%.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

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.