Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $2.34 Million Position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,924 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,215 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $2,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Access Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.1% during the second quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 20,520 shares of the bank’s stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 22,334 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 36,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY stock opened at $41.77 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.00. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $32.08 and a one year high of $45.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $178.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.19 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 30.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total transaction of $903,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 355,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,053,837.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Kim R. Bingham sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.89, for a total value of $269,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,841.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total transaction of $903,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 355,252 shares in the company, valued at $16,053,837.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,401 shares of company stock worth $1,728,581. Insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CATY. Wedbush lifted their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted 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 note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.50.

Cathay General Bancorp Company 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.