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

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.60.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,231,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 821.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 381,764 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,176,000 after purchasing an additional 340,329 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 112.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 331,862 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,800,000 after acquiring an additional 175,737 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 339.6% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 143,727 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 111,034 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,970,173 shares of the bank's stock worth $127,807,000 after acquiring an additional 108,672 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CATY stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $42.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 218,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 354,409. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $34.75 and a 12-month high of $55.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.62 and a 200 day moving average of $46.09.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.34%.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.