Norges Bank Invests $36.23 Million in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 760,998 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $36,231,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.07% of Cathay General Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CATY. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 332.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,313 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,087,000 after acquiring an additional 19,458 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 28.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 30,627 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 6,838 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,264 shares of the bank's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 90,419 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 24,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 52,366 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 10,942 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of CATY traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $38.43. The stock had a trading volume of 31,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 346,391. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 0.99. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $33.88 and a 1-year high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.80.

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.