WaFd (WAFD) Competitors

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

Do insiders and 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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer WAFD or CATY?

In the previous week, WaFd and WaFd both had 6 articles in the media. WaFd's average media sentiment score of 1.28 beat Cathay General Bancorp's score of 1.01 indicating that WaFd is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
WaFd	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cathay General Bancorp	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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 2.8%. 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.

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%

Which has preferable earnings & 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	1.72	$200.04M	$2.63	11.88
Cathay General Bancorp	$1.39B	2.44	$285.98M	$4.14	11.87

Which has more risk & volatility, WAFD or CATY?

WaFd has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend WAFD or CATY?

WaFd presently has a consensus price target of $32.25, suggesting a potential upside of 3.20%. Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus price target of $49.71, suggesting a potential upside of 1.19%. Given WaFd's higher probable upside, equities research 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

Summary

Cathay General Bancorp beats WaFd on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.