On April 19, 2023, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC announced that it has increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by a staggering 102.3% during the fourth quarter of 2022. The disclosure was made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), indicating that Allspring now owns 8,004 shares in the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,047 shares over three months. This recent acquisition amounts to $326,000 in holdings in Cathay General Bancorp, which highlights Allspring’s keen interest in managing high-return strategies.
This bold move towards increasing holdings falls on the heels of Cathay General Bancorp recently announcing a quarterly dividend yield of $0.34 per share. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 27th were subsequently issued their dividend on Thursday, March 9th. This represents a substantial annualized dividend payout ratio of $1.36 for shareholders who own stocks with a current yield of 4.20%.
Despite the announcement of such profitable results for investors, various research analysts have noted different opinions about the potential and future growth perspective of this stock. For instance, on January 26th, Stephens increased their price target from $43 to $44 but was promptly negated by Piper Sandler who decreased their price objective from $47 to $46 just one day later.
The continuously differing opinions about the potential growth target for this stock may indicate an uncertain and volatile market within the banking industry – with several research analysts alluding to caution when it comes to investing in such assets presently.
Finally Stock News released a hold rating marking among five analysts being amongst those not quite confident enough to place a strong buy or sell recommendation based on data from Bloomberg.com suggesting that overall rating at present is hold with an average target price of $43.20 – leaving investors scratching their heads as they continue to analyse conflicting perspectives.
Investing in such instruments requires caution, and investors must stay updated periodically and keep abreast of changes in the industry. Overall, only time will tell how Cathay General Bancorp shall fare in the long run.
Cathay General Bancorp: Navigating Stake Changes and Market Trends
Cathay General Bancorp: A Detailed Analysis
Cathay General Bancorp is a reputable bank that has been in operation for several decades. Recently, the bank’s financial activities have caught the attention of hedge funds and institutional investors who have increased their stakes or reduced them. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc., Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD, Covestor Ltd, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can, and MetLife Investment Management LLC are some of the institutions that recently added to or reduced their stakes in CATY.
In addition to these stake changes, Vice Chairman Anthony M. Tang sold 5,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in February 2023 at an average price of $45.20. Consequently, the insider now directly owns approximately $9,445,172.80 worth of shares. Also during the same period, CATY announced and paid a quarterly dividend worth $0.34 per share to shareholders on record as per February 27th.
CATY’s performance on NASDAQ is equally noteworthy based on its Q1’23 report released on January 25th. The bank recorded earnings per share (EPS) of $1.33 and revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter compared to analysts’ consensus estimate of EPS of $1.39 and revenue of $217.67 million.
Despite this impressive feat in Q1’23, Cathey General Bancorp has experienced moderate market cap growth from $2.35 billion with a P/E ratio of 6.68 and beta at 1.14 as its shares opened at $32.40 last Wednesday.
Cathay General Bancorp proved lucrative in terms of yield over the past year with dividends amounting to an annual payout ratio of
$1—the current yield being around 4%.
To wrap up this fascinating analysis on Cathay General Bancorp—while prospects look impressive financially, it is important to note that shareholder stakes have also come and gone in light of the latest market trend changes. Despite this, CATY continues to be a formidable force in American banking.
