Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Receives $50.80 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.80.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY opened at $46.27 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.22 and a 200 day moving average of $46.53. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 1.12. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $33.88 and a 12 month high of $55.29. 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 (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 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 10.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CATY. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $36,231,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 821.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 381,764 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,176,000 after purchasing an additional 340,329 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 112.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 331,862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,800,000 after purchasing an additional 175,737 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,493,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 339.6% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 143,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 111,034 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.