Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp has been downgraded from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting analysts' concerns about the company's performance.
• Despite the downgrade, several analysts have varying opinions on the stock; with two rating it as a Buy and an average price target of $49.71.
• The bank has reported earnings of $1.10 per share, matching analysts' estimates, while also announcing a stock repurchase plan of $150 million to potentially boost shareholder value.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens lowered shares of Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, August 4th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.71.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY remained flat at $49.26 during mid-day trading on Friday. 205,153 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 417,404. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.64. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.06 and a 12 month high of $55.29. 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 (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10. The company had revenue of $196.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.04 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 21.44% and a return on equity of 10.39%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 2.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 354,457 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,860 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 11.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 58,021 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,473,000 after purchasing an additional 5,785 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $426,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 310,246 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,771,000 after purchasing an additional 14,121 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $23,188,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.