Congress Asset Management Co. Acquires 12,296 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,234 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 12,296 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.23% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $7,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the bank's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,264 shares of the bank's stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 6,108 shares of the bank's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the bank's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,730 shares of the bank's stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

CATY stock remained flat at $46.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. 258,886 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 322,693. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.32. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52-week low of $33.88 and a 52-week high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.70%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CATY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.80.

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.