Thomas Lo Sells 1,600 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Stock

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) EVP Thomas Lo sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $99,952.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $147,554.14. This represents a 40.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ CATY opened at $61.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.60 and a 200-day moving average of $56.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $44.57 and a 1-year high of $65.25.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $221.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $218.28 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 24.66% and a return on equity of 11.71%. Cathay General Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 29.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $49.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens lifted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CATY. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth $47,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth $53,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.