Axos Financial (AX) Competitors

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

Does the media favor AX or CATY?

In the previous week, Axos Financial had 2 more articles in the media than Cathay General Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Axos Financial and 8 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp. Cathay General Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.01 beat Axos Financial's score of 0.93 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
Axos Financial	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cathay General Bancorp	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer AX or CATY?

Axos Financial currently has a consensus target price of $85.86, suggesting a potential upside of 2.09%. Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus target price of $50.17, suggesting a potential upside of 3.65%. Given Cathay General Bancorp's higher possible 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)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has more volatility & risk, AX or CATY?

Axos Financial has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, AX or CATY?

Axos Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Cathay General Bancorp. Axos Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cathay General Bancorp, 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	$1.88B	2.52	$450.01M	$7.34	11.46
Cathay General Bancorp	$1.39B	2.44	$285.98M	$3.96	12.22

Is AX or CATY more profitable?

Axos Financial has a net margin of 21.93% compared to Cathay General Bancorp's net margin of 20.55%. Axos Financial's return on equity of 17.58% beat Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Axos Financial	21.93%	17.58%	1.83%
Cathay General Bancorp	20.55%	10.23%	1.25%

Summary

Axos Financial beats Cathay General Bancorp on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.