Head to Head Contrast: Carver Bancorp (NASDAQ:CARV) & Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) and Carver Bancorp (NASDAQ:CARV) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Cathay General Bancorp and Carver Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cathay General Bancorp	24.66%	11.71%	1.43%
Carver Bancorp	-34.89%	-171.55%	-1.82%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Cathay General Bancorp and Carver Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cathay General Bancorp	$1.38 billion	3.00	$315.12 million	$5.12	12.17
Carver Bancorp	$22.74 million	0.49	-$13.74 million	($1.36)	-1.29

Cathay General Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Carver Bancorp. Carver Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cathay General Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carver Bancorp has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.2% of Carver Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Carver Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Cathay General Bancorp and Carver Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cathay General Bancorp	1	4	1	0	2.00
Carver Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00

Cathay General Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $62.25, indicating a potential downside of 0.08%. Given Cathay General Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cathay General Bancorp is more favorable than Carver Bancorp.

Summary

Cathay General Bancorp beats Carver Bancorp on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also provides loan products, such as commercial mortgage loans, commercial loans, small business administration loans, residential mortgage loans, real estate construction loans, and home equity lines of credit, as well as installment loans to individuals for household, and other consumer expenditures. In addition, the company offers trade financing, letter of credit, wire transfer, forward currency spot and forward contract, safe deposit, collection, automatic teller machine, Internet banking, investment, and other customary bank services, as well as securities and insurance products. Cathay General Bancorp was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About Carver Bancorp

Carver Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank that provides consumer and commercial banking services for consumers, businesses, non-profit organizations, and governmental and quasi-governmental agencies primarily in New York. It accepts various deposit products, including demand, savings, and time deposits; passbook and statement accounts, and certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts. The company provides lending products, such as one-to-four family residential, multifamily real estate, and commercial real estate lending; and construction, business and small business administration, and consumer and other loans. In addition, it offers other consumer and commercial banking products and services, including debit cards, online account opening and banking, online bill pay, and telephone banking, as well as check cashing, wire transfer, bill payment, reloadable prepaid card, and money order services. Carver Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in New York, New York.