Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has an average analyst rating of "Hold", with one sell, four hold, and two buy ratings among the seven brokerages covering the stock.
• The company has a share buyback program approved for up to $150 million, indicating a belief by its board that the stock is undervalued.
• Cathay General Bancorp recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.8%.

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.7143.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. Stephens downgraded Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 5,438.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 720 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter worth $46,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 174.8% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,201 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 319.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the bank's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $49.26 on Wednesday. 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 quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.64. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

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.

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