Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", based on six covering analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $52.00.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.29 EPS versus the $1.19 estimate and revenue of $213.2 million, up 14.4% year over year.
• Cathay General Bancorp also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share and a share buyback authorization, while insiders have sold stock in recent months.

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CATY opened at $55.61 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.65. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52-week low of $41.83 and a 52-week high of $58.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $213.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.27 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 23.79%.The business's revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $150,000.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 4,164,630.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.34%.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, CEO Chang Liu sold 4,836 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $243,492.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 127,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,435,686.65. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP May K. Chan sold 558 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $31,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $150,808. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 25,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,341 over the last ninety days. 4.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 150,601 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,230,000 after acquiring an additional 42,868 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 305,043 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,645,000 after acquiring an additional 24,615 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 252.7% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 28,518 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,369,000 after acquiring an additional 20,433 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,505,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $745,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.