Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stephens cut Cathay General Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ CATY opened at $47.47 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Cathay General Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $36.06 and a fifty-two week high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.10. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.39% and a net margin of 21.44%.The company had revenue of $196.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Cathay General Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CATY. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5,438.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter worth $46,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 174.8% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 319.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 19.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.