GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Holdings in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 42.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,188 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Cathay General Bancorp were worth $104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $499,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 19.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,262,970 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,639,000 after purchasing an additional 208,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,194,232 shares of the bank’s stock worth $158,206,000 after purchasing an additional 176,215 shares during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CATY opened at $45.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.87. Cathay General Bancorp has a twelve month low of $33.88 and a twelve month high of $55.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $359.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.70 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 11.30%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 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 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CATY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens upgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 7,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.05, for a total transaction of $342,947.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 347,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,371,659.15. The trade was a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total transaction of $42,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,873. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,189 shares of company stock worth $2,500,047. Corporate insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

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.