Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Stock Moved Up to “Hold” by Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY – Free Report) to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered Cathay General Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $49.50 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.25.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on CATY

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CATY opened at $61.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $44.57 and a 12 month high of $65.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.21.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 24.66% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The firm had revenue of $221.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $99,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $147,554.14. This trade represents a 40.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Sun sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.31, for a total value of $1,266,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $463,112.65. The trade was a 73.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,996,362 in the last quarter. 4.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CATY. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 6.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,068 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 36,078 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,799,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, is a full-service commercial bank established in 1962 to serve the financial needs of Chinese American communities. Cathay General Bancorp was formed as the bank’s holding company in 1990.

Cathay Bank provides a range of banking and financial services for businesses, individuals and institutions. Its offerings include commercial and residential real estate loans, commercial and industrial financing, Small Business Administration loans, consumer lending, deposit accounts, cash-management services, online and mobile banking, and wealth-management solutions.

The company primarily serves customers in major metropolitan areas across California and in selected markets in New York, Texas, Washington, Nevada, Maryland, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

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Analyst Recommendations for Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

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