Short Interest in Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Expands By 38.0%

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,650,000 shares, an increase of 38.0% from the February 28th total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 745,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hope Bancorp news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 4,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total transaction of $49,508.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,928.61. The trade was a 17.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOPE. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 181.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Hope Bancorp by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 819.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 3,309 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of HOPE stock opened at $10.42 on Monday. Hope Bancorp has a 12 month low of $9.80 and a 12 month high of $14.54. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 4.84%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hope Bancorp will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 68.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HOPE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.50 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

About Hope Bancorp

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.