Cathay General Bancorp $CATY Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,697 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 27,298 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Cathay General Bancorp were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CATY. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,579,719 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,842,000 after purchasing an additional 53,621 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $36,348,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 375.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 420,509 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,189,000 after buying an additional 331,997 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 386,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,546,000 after buying an additional 77,228 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 305,043 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,645,000 after acquiring an additional 24,615 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CATY stock opened at $51.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52 week low of $36.13 and a 52 week high of $54.99.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.48%.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $50,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,460. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.50.

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.