First Trust Advisors LP Has $11.14 Million Stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 233,928 shares of the bank's stock after selling 24,521 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.33% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $11,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CATY. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 189.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the bank's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the bank's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

CATY opened at $42.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.30. Cathay General Bancorp has a twelve month low of $34.42 and a twelve month high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The company had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.17 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CATY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.60.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.

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