Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Sell"

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, indicating a more negative outlook for the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts have varied opinions; DA Davidson raised their price target from $45.00 to $51.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating, while Stephens set a price target of $50.00.
• The company has authorized a $150 million share buyback program, aimed at repurchasing up to 5% of its shares, suggesting management believes the stock may be undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on CATY. DA Davidson boosted 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. Stephens lowered Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ CATY traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.59. The stock had a trading volume of 243,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,936. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $48.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.06 and a 12 month high of $55.29.

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

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,970,173 shares of the bank's stock valued at $127,807,000 after buying an additional 108,672 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,577,657 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,887,000 after buying an additional 58,215 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,348,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $25,856,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $23,188,000. 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.

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