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

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has been rated with a consensus of "Hold" by seven rating firms, with one analyst recommending a sell, four hold, and two buy ratings.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.10 per share, matching analyst estimates, and a revenue of $196.61 million for the quarter.
• Cathay General Bancorp has authorized a $150 million share repurchase program, indicating potential confidence in its stock valuation.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.7143.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CATY 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $47.90 and its 200-day moving average is $44.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,970,173 shares of the bank's stock worth $127,807,000 after acquiring an additional 108,672 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,577,657 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,887,000 after purchasing an additional 58,215 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,348,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,856,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,188,000. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

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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