Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Given a $53.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 target price on Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the bank's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.85. The stock had a trading volume of 271,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,190. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 0.91. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $41.74 and its 200 day moving average is $45.88. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $34.75 and a 12 month high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.17 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 20.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.34%.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $32,805.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,000. This trade represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $36,231,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $25,856,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $23,188,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 112.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 331,862 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,800,000 after purchasing an additional 175,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 339.6% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 143,727 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 111,034 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.