Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ CATY opened at $37.83 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $39.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.12. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $27.24 and a 1 year high of $45.72.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $205.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.95 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 27.02%. On average, analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Anthony M. Tang sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.45, for a total value of $304,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 204,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,885,525. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.1% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,016,193 shares of the bank’s stock worth $290,231,000 after purchasing an additional 267,075 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,254,816 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $367,917,000 after purchasing an additional 196,146 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,850,356 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $171,613,000 after purchasing an additional 150,331 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,708,830 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $165,970,000 after purchasing an additional 317,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,053,405 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $91,520,000 after acquiring an additional 25,421 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.