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Cathay General (CATY) Rallies on $125M Share Buyback Plan
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Cathay General Bancorp (CATY - Free Report) cheered investors by announcing that its board authorized the buyback of up to $125 million worth of shares of its common stock. The company had 75,150,090 outstanding common shares as of May 26.
Likely reflecting the buyback news, shares of CATY rallied 3.9% in Friday’s trading session.
The share repurchase plan announced on Sep 2, 2021, was completed on Feb 18, 2022. Under the program, the bank repurchased 2,858,503 shares at an average price of $43.73.
In addition to having a repurchase program, the company regularly pays dividends.
The latest dividend was announced on May 16, 2022, when it declared a quarterly cash dividend of 34 cents per share. The dividend will be paid out on Jun 6 to shareholders of record as of May 27.
On Dec 9, 2021, CATY hiked its quarterly dividend by 9.7% to the current payout from 31 cents.Based on last day’s closing price of $41.53, the company’s dividend yield currently stands at 3.27%, which is impressive compared with the industry’s yield of 2.50%.
Also, the company’s debt/equity ratio is 0.07, comparing favorably with the industry average of 0.13. This highlights that Cathay General is better positioned than its peers. The company will be financially stable, even in adverse economic conditions.
Hence, supported by its earnings and balance sheet strength, Cathay General will likely continue enhancing shareholder value through efficient capital deployment activities.
So far this year, shares of CATY have lost 3.3% compared with a 17.7% decline of the industry it belongs to.
Flushing Financial Corporation (FFIC - Free Report) announced that its board of directors approved the repurchase of up to 1 million shares of FFIC’s outstanding stock. The buyback program, effective immediately, has no expiration date and is in addition to the existing authorization. Under the existing plan, Flushing Financial repurchased 0.4 million shares in the first quarter.
South Plains Financial, Inc. (SPFI - Free Report) announced a share repurchase program. SPFI’s board of directors approved the repurchase of up to $15 million worth of SPFI’s outstanding common stock.
The new buyback plan will begin when the existing stock repurchase program (announced on Nov 1, 2021) expires due to the depletion of funds previously allocated to South Plains and will conclude on May 21, 2023, subject to earlier termination or extension.
City Holding Company (CHCO - Free Report) cheered investors by announcing that its board authorized the buyback of up to 1 million shares of its common stock. CHCO has 14.9 million outstanding common shares at present and the repurchase authorization indicates roughly 7% of the company’s outstanding shares. The buyback has no expiry date.
Simultaneously, City Holdingcanceled the previous share repurchase plan approved on Mar 31, 2021. Under the program, it repurchased 826,330 shares through May 25, 2022.
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Cathay General (CATY) Rallies on $125M Share Buyback Plan
Cathay General Bancorp (CATY - Free Report) cheered investors by announcing that its board authorized the buyback of up to $125 million worth of shares of its common stock. The company had 75,150,090 outstanding common shares as of May 26.
Likely reflecting the buyback news, shares of CATY rallied 3.9% in Friday’s trading session.
The share repurchase plan announced on Sep 2, 2021, was completed on Feb 18, 2022. Under the program, the bank repurchased 2,858,503 shares at an average price of $43.73.
In addition to having a repurchase program, the company regularly pays dividends.
The latest dividend was announced on May 16, 2022, when it declared a quarterly cash dividend of 34 cents per share. The dividend will be paid out on Jun 6 to shareholders of record as of May 27.
On Dec 9, 2021, CATY hiked its quarterly dividend by 9.7% to the current payout from 31 cents.Based on last day’s closing price of $41.53, the company’s dividend yield currently stands at 3.27%, which is impressive compared with the industry’s yield of 2.50%.
Also, the company’s debt/equity ratio is 0.07, comparing favorably with the industry average of 0.13. This highlights that Cathay General is better positioned than its peers. The company will be financially stable, even in adverse economic conditions.
Hence, supported by its earnings and balance sheet strength, Cathay General will likely continue enhancing shareholder value through efficient capital deployment activities.
So far this year, shares of CATY have lost 3.3% compared with a 17.7% decline of the industry it belongs to.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Currently, Cathay General carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Share Buyback Plans of Other Finance Companies
Flushing Financial Corporation (FFIC - Free Report) announced that its board of directors approved the repurchase of up to 1 million shares of FFIC’s outstanding stock. The buyback program, effective immediately, has no expiration date and is in addition to the existing authorization. Under the existing plan, Flushing Financial repurchased 0.4 million shares in the first quarter.
South Plains Financial, Inc. (SPFI - Free Report) announced a share repurchase program. SPFI’s board of directors approved the repurchase of up to $15 million worth of SPFI’s outstanding common stock.
The new buyback plan will begin when the existing stock repurchase program (announced on Nov 1, 2021) expires due to the depletion of funds previously allocated to South Plains and will conclude on May 21, 2023, subject to earlier termination or extension.
City Holding Company (CHCO - Free Report) cheered investors by announcing that its board authorized the buyback of up to 1 million shares of its common stock. CHCO has 14.9 million outstanding common shares at present and the repurchase authorization indicates roughly 7% of the company’s outstanding shares. The buyback has no expiry date.
Simultaneously, City Holdingcanceled the previous share repurchase plan approved on Mar 31, 2021. Under the program, it repurchased 826,330 shares through May 25, 2022.