Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Receives $49.71 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp has received an average analyst recommendation of "Hold" from seven research firms, with one sell rating, four hold ratings, and two buy ratings.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share will be paid on September 8th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.9%.
• Cathay General Bancorp's stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, with a current ratio and quick ratio both standing at 1.05.

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are 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 given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.7143.

Several equities analysts have commented on CATY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens cut Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ CATY traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $47.75. The stock had a trading volume of 265,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 430,175. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $36.06 and a 1 year high of $55.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.97.

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

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

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 354,457 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,252,000 after buying an additional 8,860 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 58,021 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,473,000 after buying an additional 5,785 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 44,179 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,103,000 after buying an additional 9,403 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $426,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 109.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 36,749 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,757,000 after buying an additional 19,165 shares during the last quarter. 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.