Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.75.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens raised Cathay General Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ CATY opened at $47.08 on Friday. Cathay General Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $33.88 and a fifty-two week high of $55.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.91 and a 200-day moving average of $44.87. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $359.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is 34.26%.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 7,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.05, for a total value of $342,947.45. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $42,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders sold 48,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,500,047 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CATY. Quarry LP raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 76.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 765 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.