Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Cathay General Bancorp shares reached a new 52-week high of $65.85 and last traded around $66.02, above the $62.25 consensus analyst price target.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has an average “Hold” rating, with one Buy, five Hold, and one Sell recommendation.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, slightly below estimates, while revenue exceeded expectations; it also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.38, yielding approximately 2.3% annually.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday. The stock traded as high as $65.85 and last traded at $66.0230, with a volume of 37,183 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $49.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Benchmark upgraded Cathay General Bancorp to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $61.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by ($0.02). Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 25.32% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The company had revenue of $230.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $227.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Albert Sun sold 960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.95, for a total value of $62,352.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,600 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $99,952.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,554.14. This represents a 40.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 7,560 shares of company stock valued at $475,964 in the last three months. 4.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 160.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 11,550 shares of the bank's stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 7,112 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 7.7% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 20,715 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.0% during the third quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 21,896 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 33.2% in the third quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 20,444 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,091 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions, with a particular focus on serving the Chinese American and broader communities in the markets where it operates.

Cathay Bank offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial lending, small-business financing, consumer loans, treasury management and other traditional banking services.

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