Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $51.76 and last traded at $51.7740, with a volume of 47070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CATY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.60.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $210.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.71 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 22.26%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 31.41%.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, Chairman Dunson K. Cheng sold 7,590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.81, for a total value of $362,877.90. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 138,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,614,991.60. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.83, for a total transaction of $46,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $140,490. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,820,148. 4.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cathay General Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5,438.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 319.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.