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

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.80.

A number of research firms recently commented on CATY. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CATY opened at $47.76 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 1.13. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $33.88 and a 12-month high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 20.57%. Equities analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is 34.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 900 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,359 shares in the company, valued at $157,873. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 347,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,371,659.15. The trade was a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,500,047. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CATY. CWM LLC raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 19.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 24.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 765 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,264 shares of the bank’s stock worth $999,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 11.7% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 6,108 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. 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.