Brokerages Set Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) PT at $50.17

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.86.

CATY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson set a $51.00 price target on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $32,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $180,000. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter worth $46,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 174.8% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 19.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 3.2%

CATY opened at $46.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.93. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.06 and a 1-year high of $55.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.50.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.10. The company had revenue of $196.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.04 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 21.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp operates as the holding company for Cathay Bank that offers various commercial banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, including passbook accounts, checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and public funds deposits.