Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.80.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens decreased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 25.4% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 49,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 10,022 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $512,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $318,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $524,000. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $43.98 on Wednesday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52 week low of $33.88 and a 52 week high of $55.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.74.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.70%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

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.