Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Receives $50.17 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.17.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CATY shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $32,805.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,000. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CATY. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $46,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 174.8% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $44.37 on Monday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $34.75 and a 12-month high of $55.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.72 and its 200-day moving average is $45.30.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 20.57%. The company had revenue of $187.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 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.