Axos Financial (AX) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility and risk, AX or CATY?

Axos Financial has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend AX or CATY?

Axos Financial currently has a consensus target price of $90.86, suggesting a potential upside of 8.01%. Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus target price of $49.71, suggesting a potential upside of 11.02%. Given Cathay General Bancorp's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cathay General Bancorp is more favorable than Axos Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Axos Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71
Cathay General Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.14

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, AX or CATY?

Axos Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Cathay General Bancorp. Cathay General Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Axos Financial, 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
Axos Financial	$1.95B	2.44	$432.91M	$7.46	11.28
Cathay General Bancorp	$1.39B	2.26	$285.98M	$4.14	10.82

Is AX or CATY more profitable?

Axos Financial has a net margin of 22.24% compared to Cathay General Bancorp's net margin of 21.44%. Axos Financial's return on equity of 17.11% beat Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Axos Financial	22.24%	17.11%	1.82%
Cathay General Bancorp	21.44%	10.39%	1.27%

Does the media refer more to AX or CATY?

In the previous week, Axos Financial had 17 more articles in the media than Cathay General Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for Axos Financial and 6 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp. Axos Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat Cathay General Bancorp's score of 0.21 indicating that Axos Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Axos Financial	8 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cathay General Bancorp	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of AX or CATY?

83.8% of Axos Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of Axos Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of Cathay General Bancorp 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.

Summary

Axos Financial beats Cathay General Bancorp on 15 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.