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

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.25.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CATY shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard Sun sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $1,266,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,315 shares in the company, valued at $463,112.65. This trade represents a 73.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $604,644,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $4,243,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,799,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of CATY opened at $63.41 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.04. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52-week low of $44.57 and a 52-week high of $64.89. The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.86.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 24.66%.The company had revenue of $221.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $218.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.69%.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $150,000.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 4,164,630.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.