Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Hope Bancorp stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $12.47. The stock had a trading volume of 661,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,591. Hope Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $8.51 and a fifty-two week high of $13.59. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $246.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.67 million. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 10.02%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David P. Malone sold 10,428 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.71, for a total transaction of $132,539.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 109,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,397,985.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David P. Malone sold 10,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.71, for a total transaction of $132,539.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 109,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,397,985.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total value of $39,680.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $321,804.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,831 shares of company stock valued at $323,657 in the last 90 days. 5.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 2.0% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 60,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 32,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 105,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Hope Bancorp by 1.8% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 84,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

Hope Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hope that provides retail and commercial banking services for businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts personal and business checking, money market, savings, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers loans comprising commercial and industrial loans to businesses for various purposes, such as working capital, purchasing inventory, debt refinancing, business acquisitions, international trade finance, other business-related financing, and loans syndication services; commercial real estate loans; residential mortgage loans; small business administration loans; and consumer loans, such as single-family mortgage, home equity, automobile, credit card, and personal loans.