Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.
Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and, of course, dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.
Based in Los Angeles, Cathay General (CATY) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 15.77%. The holding company for Cathay Bank is paying out a dividend of $0.38 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.71% compared to the Banks - West industry's yield of 2.79% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.45%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.52 is up 11.8% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Cathay General has increased its dividend 1 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 2.11%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Cathay's current payout ratio is 31%, meaning it paid out 31% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
CATY is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $5.40 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 18.94%.
Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.
For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that CATY is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
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Cathay General Bancorp (CATY): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).