Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CATY. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $49.50 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY opened at $64.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 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 $65.05.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $221.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.28 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 24.66% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $150,000.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 4,164,630.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, Director Richard Sun sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $189,270.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,652. This represents a 51.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 28,000 shares of company stock worth $1,772,020 over the last 90 days. 4.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CATY. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 25.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,761 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 3,030 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,456 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 6,740 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,395 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $316,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 183,090 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,878,000 after purchasing an additional 8,914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

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.