Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) Competitors

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) and Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, earnings, community ranking, media sentiment, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Does the media favor EWBC or CATY?

In the previous week, East West Bancorp had 12 more articles in the media than Cathay General Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 22 mentions for East West Bancorp and 10 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp. Cathay General Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.33 beat East West Bancorp's score of 0.69 indicating that Cathay General Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
East West Bancorp	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cathay General Bancorp	7 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is EWBC or CATY more profitable?

East West Bancorp has a net margin of 25.73% compared to Cathay General Bancorp's net margin of 20.57%. East West Bancorp's return on equity of 15.71% beat Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
East West Bancorp	25.73%	15.71%	1.58%
Cathay General Bancorp	20.57%	10.70%	1.29%

Which has better valuation and earnings, EWBC or CATY?

East West Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Cathay General Bancorp. East West Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cathay General Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
East West Bancorp	$2.57B	4.20	$1.17B	$8.33	9.35
Cathay General Bancorp	$729.72M	3.74	$285.98M	$3.96	9.80

Is EWBC or CATY a better dividend stock?

East West Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Cathay General Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. East West Bancorp pays out 28.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cathay General Bancorp pays out 34.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in EWBC or CATY?

89.5% of East West Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of East West Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in EWBC or CATY?

East West Bancorp received 232 more outperform votes than Cathay General Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.64% of users gave East West Bancorp an outperform vote while only 57.87% of users gave Cathay General Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
East West Bancorp	Outperform Votes 563 64.64%	Underperform Votes 308 35.36%
Cathay General Bancorp	Outperform Votes 331 57.87%	Underperform Votes 241 42.13%

Do analysts recommend EWBC or CATY?

East West Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $106.46, indicating a potential upside of 36.65%. Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus target price of $50.80, indicating a potential upside of 30.88%. Given East West Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe East West Bancorp is more favorable than Cathay General Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
East West Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.69
Cathay General Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Which has more risk & volatility, EWBC or CATY?

East West Bancorp has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

East West Bancorp beats Cathay General Bancorp on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.