Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) vs. Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) Head-To-Head Comparison

Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) and Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Pathfinder Bancorp and Cathay General Bancorp’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pathfinder Bancorp	$72.85 million	0.80	$9.29 million	$1.42	8.67
Cathay General Bancorp	$778.54 million	3.38	$354.12 million	$4.52	7.99

Cathay General Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Pathfinder Bancorp. Cathay General Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pathfinder Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Pathfinder Bancorp has a beta of 0.13, indicating that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

26.7% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.4% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Pathfinder Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Cathay General Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Pathfinder Bancorp pays out 28.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cathay General Bancorp pays out 30.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Pathfinder Bancorp has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Pathfinder Bancorp and Cathay General Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pathfinder Bancorp	11.50%	7.47%	0.62%
Cathay General Bancorp	24.41%	13.02%	1.52%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Pathfinder Bancorp and Cathay General Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pathfinder Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
Cathay General Bancorp	1	3	1	0	2.00

Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus target price of $39.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.00%. Given Cathay General Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cathay General Bancorp is more favorable than Pathfinder Bancorp.

Summary

Cathay General Bancorp beats Pathfinder Bancorp on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pathfinder Bancorp

Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Pathfinder Bank that provides various banking and financial products and services in New York. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and demand and time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate, commercial, residential real estate, construction, and tax-exempt loans; home equity loans and junior liens; and consumer loans comprising automobile, recreational vehicles, and unsecured personal loans, as well as unsecured lines of credit and loans secured by deposit accounts. The company is also involved in the property, casualty, and life insurance brokerage business. It primarily serves individuals, families, small to mid-size businesses, and municipalities. The company was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Oswego, New York.

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. It also provides loan products, such as commercial mortgage loans, commercial loans, small business administration loans, residential mortgage loans, real estate construction loans, and home equity lines of credit, as well as installment loans to individuals for household, and other consumer expenditures. In addition, the company offers trade financing, letter of credit, wire transfer, forward currency spot and forward contract, safe deposit, collection, automatic teller machine, Internet banking, investment, and other customary bank services, as well as securities and insurance products. Cathay General Bancorp was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.