Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $745,000 in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 15,404 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $745,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CATY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,348,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 375.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 420,509 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,189,000 after purchasing an additional 331,997 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,987,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $3,910,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 674.4% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 93,282 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,478,000 after acquiring an additional 81,236 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY stock opened at $50.69 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.82. Cathay General Bancorp has a twelve month low of $36.06 and a twelve month high of $54.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. This is a positive change from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.48%.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total transaction of $50,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,460. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.50.

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.