Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp has been upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• DA Davidson and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods have increased their price targets for Cathay General Bancorp, now setting them at $51 and $52 respectively, showing confidence in the company's future performance.
• The bank reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, matching analysts' expectations, and experienced a 10.1% year-over-year increase in revenue.

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

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens lowered shares of Cathay General Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, August 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.71.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of CATY traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $49.24. 1,795,546 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 353,775. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.81. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.06 and a 12-month high of $55.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CATY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,970,173 shares of the bank's stock valued at $127,807,000 after buying an additional 108,672 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,577,657 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,887,000 after buying an additional 58,215 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,348,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,856,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at 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.