Algert Global LLC Acquires Shares of 61,986 Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 61,986 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 168.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,675 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 12,039.0% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,977 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 4,936 shares during the period. Finally, Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $206,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY opened at $41.63 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.00. Cathay General Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.08 and a fifty-two week high of $45.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.02). Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 22.08%. The business had revenue of $178.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Cathay General Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is 30.09%.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, Chairman Dunson K. Cheng sold 12,401 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.79, for a total transaction of $555,440.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 149,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,699,061.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total transaction of $903,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 355,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,053,837.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Dunson K. Cheng sold 12,401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.79, for a total transaction of $555,440.79. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 149,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,699,061.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,401 shares of company stock valued at $1,728,581 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Cathay General Bancorp Profile

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.