Analysts Set Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Target Price at $52.50

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.50.

CATY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY opened at $48.48 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52 week low of $36.06 and a 52 week high of $54.99.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.13. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 22.76%.The business had revenue of $222.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $50,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $100,460. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5,438.5% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 101.8% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 781 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.