Analysts Set Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) PT at $47.75

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.75.

Several brokerages have recently commented on CATY. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush raised their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Cathay General Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

CATY opened at $50.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $48.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.31. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $33.88 and a 1 year 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 quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $359.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.70 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 20.57%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 34.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.87, for a total transaction of $2,114,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 295,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,609,973.24. This trade represents a 11.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $42,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $157,873. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,189 shares of company stock valued at $2,500,047. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Quarry LP grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 76.3% during the second 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. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 168.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.