Which Is a Better Investment, Cathay General Bancorp or WaFd, Inc. Stock?

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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in WaFd, Inc. or Cathay General Bancorp because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how WaFd, Inc. and Cathay General Bancorp compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About WaFd, Inc. and Cathay General Bancorp

WaFd, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company provides deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts. It offers single-family dwellings, construction, land acquisition and development, consumer lot, multi-family residential, commercial real estate, home equity, business, and consumer loans, as well as commercial and industrial loans. In addition, the company offers insurance brokerage services, such as individual and business insurance policies; holds and markets real estate properties; and debit and credit cards, as well as acts as the trustee. It serves consumers, mid-sized and large businesses, and owners and developers of commercial real estate. The company was formerly known as Washington Federal, Inc. and changed its name to WaFd, Inc. in September 2023. WaFd, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

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. It offers savings accounts, checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and public funds deposits, and acceptance of checking, savings, and time deposits. The company also provides loan products, such as commercial loans, small business administration loans, residential mortgage loans, real estate construction loans, and home equity lines of credit, and installment loans to individuals for household and other consumer expenditures. In addition, it offers trade financing, letter of credit, wire transfer, forward currency spot and forward contract, safe deposit, collection, automatic teller machine, Internet banking, investment, and other customary bank services, as well as investment products and services, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, insurance, annuities, and advisory services. Cathay General Bancorp was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Latest Banks and WaFd, Inc., Cathay General Bancorp Stock News

As of March 11, 2025, WaFd, Inc. had a $2.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $368.8 million. WaFd, Inc.’s stock is NA in 2025, NA in the previous five trading days and down 2.53% in the past year.

Currently, WaFd, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 12.3. WaFd, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $708.8 million with a 26.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 2.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.503 per share for the current fiscal year. WaFd, Inc. currently has a 3.8% dividend yield.

Currently, Cathay General Bancorp’s price-earnings ratio is 10.8. Cathay General Bancorp’s trailing 12-month revenue is $692.2 million with a 41.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -15.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.230 per share for the current fiscal year. Cathay General Bancorp currently has a 3.2% dividend yield.

How We Compare WaFd, Inc. and Cathay General Bancorp Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at WaFd, Inc. and Cathay General Bancorp’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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