Fact based stock research
Cathay General Bancorp (NasdaqGS:CATY)

US1491501045

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Cathay General Bancorp stock research in summary

cathaybank.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 65 (better than 65% compared with investment alternatives), Cathay General Bancorp (Regional Banks, USA) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Cathay General Bancorp are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 39 (worse than 61% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 47) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 87), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 65, is a buy recommendation based on Cathay General Bancorp's financial characteristics. As the company Cathay General Bancorp's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 39) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 47), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. In this case, good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 87) are a positive sign, because it may allow the company to weather challenging times until the hoped-for cash flows materialize. This may be true for high-tech or biotechnology companies with enough cash to sustain prolonged business development. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and unattractive today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value, as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts lie all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that account for a small fraction of a safe portfolio. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	39
Growth Rank	47
Safety Rank	87
Combined Rank	65

Country	USA
Industry	Regional Banks
Index	NASDAQ, S&P MIDCAP
Size class	Small

31-Jul-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Cathay General Bancorp

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	37	32	43	39
GROWTH
GROWTH	52	78	33	47
SAFETY
SAFETY	67	85	67	87
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	39	74	59	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	57	88	55	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 31-Jul-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 31-Mar-2025. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Cathay General Bancorp is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	37	32	43	39
GROWTH
GROWTH	52	78	33	47
SAFETY
SAFETY	67	85	67	87
COMBINED
COMBINED	53	82	44	65

Last update of combined financial performance: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Cathay General Bancorp the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 39 (worse than 61% compared with alternatives), Cathay General Bancorp shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Cathay General Bancorp. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 61 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 61% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Cathay General Bancorp's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 51, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 51% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than for 83% of alternatives (only 17% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than for 53% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 39, is a hold recommendation based on Cathay General Bancorp's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high concerning expected revenues, the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting Group or BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than distribute it to shareholders through dividends, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	21	19	21	17
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	62	70	62	61
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	24	36	47	51
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	61	34	51	47
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	37	32	43	39

Last update of Value Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Cathay General Bancorp; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 47 (better than 47% compared with alternatives), Cathay General Bancorp shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for Cathay General Bancorp. Sales Growth has a below market rank of 49, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 51% of its competitors. The same is valid for Capital Growth, with a rank of 29, and Profit Growth, with a rank of 45. Currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 55% of its competitors). Only shareholders are optimistic. Stock Returns are above average at a rank of 61, which means that the stock returns have recently been above 61% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 47, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That picture may be the result for a company that has reached the bottom. All went south for Cathay General Bancorp, and it still looks bad, but some investors already see light at the end of the tunnel, rewarding the stock with recent above-market stock returns. It could also mean that investors are correcting an overreaction to negative news. If that were the case, the positive stock returns are not yet a sign of recovery. Investors should look closely at the Value and Sentiment indicators before they make a stock purchasing decision, because growth is unlikely to be the driving argument behind this investment. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is low here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	63	48	53	49
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	37	67	34	45
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	47	63	31	29
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	51	83	41	61
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	52	78	33	47

Last update of Growth Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Cathay General Bancorp.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 87 (better than 87% compared with alternatives) for 2025, the company Cathay General Bancorp has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Cathay General Bancorp is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for Cathay General Bancorp. Leverage is at a rank of 88, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 88% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 68, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 68% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 45, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 55% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 87 (better than 87% compared with alternatives), Cathay General Bancorp has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for Cathay General Bancorp. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with Cathay General Bancorp and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	82	88	68	88
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	60	49	55	45
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	37	66	58	68
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	67	85	67	87

Last update of Safety Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Cathay General Bancorp and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2022	2023	2024	2025
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	36	40	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	50	75	50	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	18	88	95	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	88	27	34	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	39	74	59	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 31-Jul-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Cathay General Bancorp.
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