Voya Investment Management LLC Acquires 54,870 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 259.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,057 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,870 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.11% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $3,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $46,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 174.8% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 36.8% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $112,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Stephens cut Cathay General Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 4th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY opened at $49.24 on Friday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.06 and a 12-month high of $55.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 21.44%.The business had revenue of $196.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.04 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

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

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.