Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Downgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $37.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.86 and its 200 day moving average is $38.69. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.12. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $27.24 and a one year high of $45.72.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $205.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.95 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 27.02%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Anthony M. Tang sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.45, for a total transaction of $304,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 204,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,885,525. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cathay General Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CATY. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,302 shares of the bank’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 32,197 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.6% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,620 shares of the bank’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,321 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Company Profile

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.