Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.91% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased 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 note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $44.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.02. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $34.75 and a one year high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.91.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 20.57%. The company had revenue of $187.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $32,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $180,000. This trade represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,231,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,856,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,188,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 112.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 339.6% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 143,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,843,000 after buying an additional 111,034 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.