Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

CATY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Thursday, January 26th.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 4.0 %

CATY opened at $35.97 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.57. Cathay General Bancorp has a twelve month low of $34.99 and a twelve month high of $47.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.42 and a beta of 1.17.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.06). Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 39.71% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The company had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $217.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 27th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Anthony M. Tang sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.20, for a total value of $226,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 208,964 shares in the company, valued at $9,445,172.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CATY. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 73.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,157 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,321 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter worth $66,000. 67.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

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Cathay General Bancorp is a holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It offers commercial mortgage loans, commercial loans, small business administration loans, residential mortgage loans, real estate construction loans, home equity lines of credit, and installment loans to individuals for automobile, household, and other consumer expenditures.