Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.50.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of CATY opened at $50.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.06 and a 1-year high of $54.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.27.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $222.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.76 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 22.76%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. This is an increase from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total value of $50,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $100,460. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 101.8% in 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 last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 979 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

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.