Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Stock Rating Lowered by Stephens

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) was downgraded by research analysts at Stephens from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $50.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Stephens’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.55% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.71.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

CATY opened at $45.64 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.68 and a 200-day moving average of $44.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.97. Cathay General Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $36.06 and a fifty-two week high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $32,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,000. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.9% during the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,965 shares of the bank’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,770 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 20,747 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,769 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

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.