Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Now Covered by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.91% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY opened at $44.57 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.77 and its 200 day moving average is $46.02. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12-month low of $34.75 and a 12-month high of $55.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.91.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.17 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 20.57%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $32,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $180,000. This trade represents a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.85% of the stock is currently owned by company 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. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 174.8% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp operates as the holding company for Cathay Bank that offers various commercial banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, including passbook accounts, checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and public funds deposits.