Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.80.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CATY traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $43.28. The stock had a trading volume of 2,974,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 323,780. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.09. 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 12 month low of $33.88 and a 12 month high of $55.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.67.

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Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.70%. Analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is 34.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,230,722 shares of the bank's stock worth $201,426,000 after buying an additional 12,684 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,861,501 shares of the bank's stock valued at $136,236,000 after buying an additional 102,724 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,519,442 shares of the bank's stock worth $72,341,000 after buying an additional 85,963 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,471,066 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,037,000 after acquiring an additional 72,532 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.