Brokerages Set Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Target Price at $47.75

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.75.

CATY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush increased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stephens raised Cathay General Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $47.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.13. Cathay General Bancorp has a twelve month low of $33.88 and a twelve month high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.01). Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 20.57%. The business had revenue of $359.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.89%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 34.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.87, for a total transaction of $2,114,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 295,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,609,973.24. This represents a 11.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total transaction of $42,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,359 shares in the company, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 48,189 shares of company stock worth $2,500,047. Corporate insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 19.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,262,970 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,639,000 after purchasing an additional 208,599 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,194,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $158,206,000 after purchasing an additional 176,215 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $7,493,000. Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $6,271,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,758,777 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,489,000 after purchasing an additional 87,847 shares during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

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.