10,100 Shares in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY Bought by AK Global Asset Management LLC

AK Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,100 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $489,000. Cathay General Bancorp accounts for approximately 0.4% of AK Global Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 375.1% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 420,509 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,189,000 after purchasing an additional 331,997 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $3,987,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $3,910,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 674.4% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 93,282 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,478,000 after purchasing an additional 81,236 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 25.0% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 386,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,546,000 after purchasing an additional 77,228 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.50.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, CEO Chang Liu sold 4,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $243,492.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 127,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,435,686.65. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $50,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,460. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY opened at $51.51 on Wednesday. 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 $36.60 and a 52-week high of $54.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.82.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $222.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.76 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. This is an increase from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.48%.

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.