Analysts Set Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Target Price at $52.50

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATYGet Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.50.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY stock opened at $50.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.82. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.06 and a 12 month high of $54.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATYGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $222.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.76 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 22.76% and a return on equity of 10.89%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. This is a positive change from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $50,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,460. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,426,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 158.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,809 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $550,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,685,203 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,547,000 after acquiring an additional 105,484 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 35,984 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cathay General Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.

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