Analysts Set Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Price Target at $50.80

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.80.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CATY shares. Wedbush upped their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $47.42 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.02 and a 200-day moving average of $45.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $33.88 and a 1 year high of $55.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.75%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 34.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Peter Wu sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.87, for a total value of $2,114,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 295,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,609,973.24. This trade represents a 11.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CATY. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 332.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,087,000 after buying an additional 19,458 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,713,650 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,615,000 after buying an additional 20,840 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,758,777 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,489,000 after buying an additional 87,847 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,690 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,257,000 after acquiring an additional 74,394 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 156,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,706,000 after acquiring an additional 9,724 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

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.