Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Receives $62.25 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.25.

CATY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $49.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of CATY stock opened at $60.73 on Wednesday. Cathay General Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.57 and a fifty-two week high of $65.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.99.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $221.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.28 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 24.66%.The company’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard Sun sold 1,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.08, for a total transaction of $62,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,656. This trade represents a 23.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,600 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $99,952.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,554.14. This represents a 40.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,600 shares of company stock worth $1,934,052. 4.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

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.