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 Cathay General Bancorp or BancFirst Corporation 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 Cathay General Bancorp and BancFirst Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.
About Cathay General Bancorp and BancFirst Corporation
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.
BancFirst Corporation operates as the bank holding company for BancFirst that provides a range of commercial banking services to retail customers, and small to medium-sized businesses in the United States. It operates through BancFirst Metropolitan Banks, BancFirst Community Banks, Pegasus, Worthington, and Other Financial Services segments. The company offers checking, negotiable order of withdrawal, savings, money market, health savings, Coverdell education, individual retirement, and sweep accounts, as well as certificates of deposit, overdraft protection, and auto draft services. It also provides commercial real estate owner occupied and non-owner occupied, construction and development, construction residential real estate, residential real estate first lien, agricultural, commercial and consumer non-real estate, and oil and gas loans; lending activities, such as private banking, commercial and residential real estate, commercial and industrial, and energy loans. In addition, the company offers investment management and administration of trusts for individuals, corporations, and employee benefit plans, as well as bond trustee and paying agent business for various Oklahoma municipalities and governmental entities; and provision of item processing, research, and other correspondent banking services to financial institutions and governmental units. Further, the company provides insurance agency services; and depository and funds transfer, collection, safe deposit box, cash management, and other services. It serves non-metropolitan trade centers and cities in the metropolitan statistical areas of Oklahoma. The company was formerly known as United Community Corporation and changed its name to BancFirst Corporation in November 1988. BancFirst Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Latest Banks and Cathay General Bancorp, BancFirst Corporation Stock News
As of March 17, 2025, Cathay General Bancorp had a $3.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $385.6 million. Cathay General Bancorp’s stock is down 8.7% in 2025, up 2.2% in the previous five trading days and up 11.17% in the past year.
Currently, Cathay General Bancorp’s price-earnings ratio is 11.1. 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 3.1% dividend yield.
As of March 17, 2025, BancFirst Corporation had a $3.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 67th percentile of all stocks. BancFirst Corporation’s stock is down 6.1% in 2025, up 1.4% in the previous five trading days and up 27.3% in the past year.
Currently, BancFirst Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 17.3. BancFirst Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $622.4 million with a 34.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.320 per share for the current fiscal year. BancFirst Corporation currently has a 1.7% dividend yield.
How We Compare Cathay General Bancorp and BancFirst Corporation 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 Cathay General Bancorp and BancFirst Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.
Learn more about A+ Investor here!
Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions
Cathay General Bancorp and BancFirst Corporation Stock Value Grades
| Company | Ticker | Value |
| Cathay General Bancorp | CATY |
B |
| BancFirst Corporation | BANF |
D |
Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.
Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.
AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.
Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.
Cathay General Bancorp has a Value Score of 68, which is Value.
BancFirst Corporation has a Value Score of 36, which is Expensive.
The Value Stock Winner: Cathay General Bancorp
As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Cathay General Bancorp is considered to have better value than BancFirst Corporation. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Cathay General Bancorp could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.
Cathay General Bancorp and BancFirst Corporation’s Quality Grades
| Company | Ticker | Quality |
| Cathay General Bancorp | CATY |
D |
| BancFirst Corporation | BANF |
F |
Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.
The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.
The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.
Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.
Cathay General Bancorp has a Quality Score of 30, which is Weak.
BancFirst Corporation has a Quality Score of 10, which is Very Weak.
The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner
Neither Cathay General Bancorp or BancFirst Corporation has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Cathay General Bancorp or BancFirst Corporation is the better investment when it comes to quality.
Cathay General Bancorp and BancFirst Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades
| Company | Ticker | Earnings Estimate |
| Cathay General Bancorp | CATY |
C |
| BancFirst Corporation | BANF |
B |
Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).
Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.
Cathay General Bancorp has a Earnings Estimate Score of 52, which is Neutral.
BancFirst Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 75, which is Positive.
The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: BancFirst Corporation
As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, BancFirst Corporation has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Cathay General Bancorp. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, BancFirst Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.
Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions
Other Cathay General Bancorp and BancFirst Corporation Grades
In addition to Quality, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.
Invest with Confidence with A+ Investor
AAII’s expansive and robust screening tools like A+ Investor help investors make confident decisions.
Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.
Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.
These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Cathay General Bancorp and BancFirst Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.
So, Which Is the Better Investment, Cathay General Bancorp or BancFirst Corporation Stock?
Overall, Cathay General Bancorp stock has a Value Score of 68, Estimate Revisions Score of 52 and Quality Score of 30.
BancFirst Corporation stock has a Value Score of 36, Estimate Revisions Score of 75 and Quality Score of 10.
Comparing Cathay General Bancorp and BancFirst Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.
Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.
A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.
AAII Disclaimer
We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.
