Brokerages Set Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) PT at $49.60

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.60.

CATY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CATY traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $45.09. 42,708 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 353,602. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.91. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $34.75 and a 1 year high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.10.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.34%.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $36,231,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $23,188,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 821.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 381,764 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,176,000 after purchasing an additional 340,329 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 112.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 331,862 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,800,000 after buying an additional 175,737 shares during the period. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 339.6% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 143,727 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,843,000 after acquiring an additional 111,034 shares during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.