Cathay General Bancorp $CATY Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,280 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 35,177 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $3,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,348,000. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,077,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 325.6% in the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 202,577 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,223,000 after purchasing an additional 154,974 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,987,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $3,175,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $49.54 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.38. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.06 and a 12-month high of $54.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.86.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $222.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This is a positive change from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total transaction of $50,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,460. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CATY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. 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. 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, Cathay General Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.