Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $48.04 and traded as high as $51.31. Cathay General Bancorp shares last traded at $50.84, with a volume of 326,427 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on CATY shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.60.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 2.0%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.85.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $210.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.71 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 10.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 31.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, CEO Chang Liu sold 5,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.24, for a total value of $238,829.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,016,022.72. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Dunson K. Cheng sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.24, for a total transaction of $647,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 155,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,211,128. This trade represents a 8.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 38,755 shares of company stock worth $1,820,148 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $485,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 14.8% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 174,987 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,004,000 after purchasing an additional 22,558 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter worth $1,714,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 96.7% during the third quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 81,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,927,000 after purchasing an additional 40,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $831,000. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.