GW&K Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

GW&K Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 612,930 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,834 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 0.90% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $29,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CATY. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5,438.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 101.8% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 781 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $43,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 319.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 1.2%

CATY stock opened at $49.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.38. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.06 and a 12 month high of $54.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.86.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $222.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.76 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 22.76%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This is an increase from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 33.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $50,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,460. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.