Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $46.70 and last traded at $46.58, with a volume of 156778 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CATY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush upped their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upped 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 report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.00.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 1.11.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.01). Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 22.08%. The company had revenue of $359.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is 30.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, Chairman Dunson K. Cheng sold 12,401 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.79, for a total value of $555,440.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 149,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,699,061.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 150,938 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 179.5% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 49,688 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 31,912 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 12.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,399 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,890,000 after buying an additional 4,855 shares during the last quarter. Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,271,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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