Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) EVP Thomas Lo Sells 1,000 Shares

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) EVP Thomas Lo sold 1,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total transaction of $50,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,460. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CATY opened at $52.57 on Tuesday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $36.06 and a 1 year high of $54.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.48. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.87.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.13. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 22.76% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The business had revenue of $222.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CATY shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CATY. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 5,438.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 101.8% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 781 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.