Associated Banc (ASB) Competitors

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

Which has higher valuation & earnings, CATY or ASB?

Cathay General Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Cathay General Bancorp	$1.39B	2.41	$285.98M	$3.96	12.07
Associated Banc	$2.39B	1.79	$123.14M	$0.86	30.02

Which has more risk & volatility, CATY or ASB?

Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Associated Banc has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is CATY or ASB a better dividend stock?

Cathay General Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Associated Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Cathay General Bancorp pays out 34.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Associated Banc pays out 107.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Associated Banc has raised 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.

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

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

Does the media refer more to CATY or ASB?

In the previous week, Cathay General Bancorp had 7 more articles in the media than Associated Banc. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp and 2 mentions for Associated Banc. Associated Banc's average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat Cathay General Bancorp's score of 0.96 indicating that Associated Banc is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cathay General Bancorp	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Associated Banc	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate CATY or ASB?

Cathay General Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $50.17, suggesting a potential upside of 5.00%. Associated Banc has a consensus target price of $26.44, suggesting a potential upside of 2.42%. Given Cathay General Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Cathay General Bancorp is more favorable than Associated Banc.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cathay General Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Associated Banc	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Is CATY or ASB more profitable?

Cathay General Bancorp has a net margin of 20.55% compared to Associated Banc's net margin of 6.02%. Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity of 10.23% beat Associated Banc's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cathay General Bancorp	20.55%	10.23%	1.25%
Associated Banc	6.02%	8.47%	0.85%

Summary

Cathay General Bancorp beats Associated Banc on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.