WaFd (WAFD) Competitors

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility and risk, WAFD or CATY?

WaFd has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer WAFD or CATY?

WaFd currently has a consensus target price of $32.25, suggesting a potential upside of 5.95%. Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus target price of $49.71, suggesting a potential upside of 4.20%. Given WaFd's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe WaFd is more favorable than Cathay General Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WaFd	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Cathay General Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.14

Is WAFD or CATY a better dividend stock?

WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Cathay General Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. WaFd pays out 41.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cathay General Bancorp pays out 32.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. WaFd has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. WaFd is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, WAFD or CATY?

Cathay General Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than WaFd. Cathay General Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WaFd, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WaFd	$1.43B	1.67	$200.04M	$2.63	11.57
Cathay General Bancorp	$1.39B	2.37	$285.98M	$4.14	11.52

Is WAFD or CATY more profitable?

Cathay General Bancorp has a net margin of 21.44% compared to WaFd's net margin of 15.57%. Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity of 10.39% beat WaFd's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WaFd	15.57%	8.57%	0.85%
Cathay General Bancorp	21.44%	10.39%	1.27%

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in WAFD or CATY?

83.7% of WaFd shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor WAFD or CATY?

In the previous week, Cathay General Bancorp had 8 more articles in the media than WaFd. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp and 6 mentions for WaFd. WaFd's average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat Cathay General Bancorp's score of 1.08 indicating that WaFd is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
WaFd	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cathay General Bancorp	7 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Cathay General Bancorp beats WaFd on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.