Analysts Set Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Price Target at $50.17

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.86.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CATY shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price objective on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY traded down $0.34 on Tuesday, reaching $46.62. 395,963 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 445,371. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.06 and a 1-year high of $55.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.37 and a 200-day moving average of $44.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.85%.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $32,805.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,000. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 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. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 19.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 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.