Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Downgraded by Stephens to Equal Weight

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp was downgraded by Stephens from an "overweight" to "equal weight" rating, with a target price of $50.00, indicating an expected upside of 11.53% from its current price.
• The company recently reported $1.10 earnings per share for its latest quarter, meeting analysts' estimates, and has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion.
• Cathay General Bancorp has announced a $150 million share buyback plan, demonstrating confidence from its board in the stock's value.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Stephens from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $50.00 target price on the bank's stock. Stephens' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.53% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CATY. DA Davidson increased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 target price on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.71.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY opened at $44.83 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.97. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $36.06 and a 1 year high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $45.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.42.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10. The business had revenue of $196.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.04 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 21.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity 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 value of $32,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,000. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the bank's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the bank's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $112,000. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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