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

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.50.

CATY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Dunson K. Cheng sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.24, for a total value of $647,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 155,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,211,128. This trade represents a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total transaction of $50,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,460. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,590 shares of company stock valued at $1,584,718. 4.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,925 shares of the bank’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,965 shares of the bank’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 21,145 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 979 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $54.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.40 and a 200 day moving average of $48.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.87. Cathay General Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $36.06 and a fifty-two week high of $54.99.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $222.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.76 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 22.76%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.96%.

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.