Cathay General Bancorp Offers Promising Dividend Yield
On Monday, shares of Cathay General Bancorp (Symbol: CATY) reached a dividend yield exceeding 3% based on its quarterly dividend of $1.36 annualized. The stock traded as low as $44.81 during the day. For investors, dividends play a crucial role, as they have historically contributed significantly to overall stock market returns.
For instance, consider an investment in the iShares Russell 3000 ETF (IWV) made on May 31, 2000, when each share cost $78.27. By May 31, 2012, the same share declined to $77.79, resulting in a slight loss of $0.48, or a drop of 0.6% over twelve years. However, during that period, investors earned a total of $10.77 per share in dividends. This raised the overall return to 13.15%. Even when accounting for reinvested dividends, the average annual return sat at about 1.0%. In contrast, a consistent yield above 3% is notably attractive if it’s sustainable. As a member of the Russell 3000, Cathay General Bancorp holds a distinguished position among the top 3,000 companies in the U.S. stock market.
Dividends can be unpredictable, often swayed by a company’s profitability. Therefore, assessing Cathay General Bancorp’s historical dividend performance can shed light on whether the recent dividend is likely to persist, which ultimately informs expectations for a sustainable 3% annual yield.
Click here to discover 9 other dividend stocks that just went on sale »
Also see:
DCT Options Chain
Funds Holding AXJV
Top Ten Hedge Funds Holding ATU
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
