Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $62.25

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.25.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CATY shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $49.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Benchmark upgraded Cathay General Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, Director Richard Sun sold 1,000 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.31, for a total value of $62,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,082. This trade represents a 31.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $99,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $147,554.14. This represents a 40.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,560 shares of company stock worth $286,694. 4.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY opened at $64.22 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $61.81 and its 200 day moving average is $57.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.90. Cathay General Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.82 and a fifty-two week high of $67.62.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $230.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.45 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 25.32% and a return on equity of 12.14%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary is Cathay Bank. Founded in Los Angeles in 1962, Cathay Bank initially served the Chinese American community and has since expanded its customer base and operations.

The bank provides commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit accounts, business and personal loans, residential mortgage lending, and cash-management and trade-finance services. Customers can also access banking through digital channels.

Cathay Bank serves individuals and businesses across several U.S.