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

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.80.

CATY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:CATY traded up $0.29 on Friday, reaching $38.63. 581,995 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 352,076. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $33.88 and a 1-year high of $55.29. The company's 50 day moving average is $43.07 and its 200-day moving average is $46.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.99.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 10.70%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 189.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the bank's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the bank's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.