Associated Banc (ASB) Competitors

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

Is ASB or CATY a better dividend stock?

Associated Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.92 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%. Associated Banc pays out 119.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cathay General Bancorp pays out 32.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Associated Banc has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Associated Banc is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, ASB or CATY?

Associated Banc has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend ASB or CATY?

Associated Banc presently has a consensus target price of $27.78, suggesting a potential upside of 5.72%. Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus target price of $49.71, suggesting a potential upside of 1.19%. Given Associated Banc's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Associated Banc is more favorable than Cathay General Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Associated Banc	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.22
Cathay General Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.14

Does the media prefer ASB or CATY?

In the previous week, Associated Banc had 1 more articles in the media than Cathay General Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Associated Banc and 9 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp. Cathay General Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.75 beat Associated Banc's score of 0.61 indicating that Cathay General Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Associated Banc	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cathay General Bancorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings & valuation, ASB or CATY?

Cathay General Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Associated Banc. Cathay General Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Associated Banc, 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
Associated Banc	$2.39B	1.82	$123.14M	$0.77	34.12
Cathay General Bancorp	$1.39B	2.44	$285.98M	$4.14	11.87

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of ASB or CATY?

83.0% of Associated Banc shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Associated Banc shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is ASB or CATY more profitable?

Cathay General Bancorp has a net margin of 21.44% compared to Associated Banc's net margin of 5.79%. Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity of 10.39% beat Associated Banc's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Associated Banc	5.79%	8.86%	0.91%
Cathay General Bancorp	21.44%	10.39%	1.27%

Summary

Cathay General Bancorp beats Associated Banc on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.