Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

Hope Bancorp Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ HOPE opened at $13.51 on Tuesday. Hope Bancorp has a 12 month low of $9.45 and a 12 month high of $14.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 1.13.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its quarterly 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). Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 9.81%. The company had revenue of $246.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Hope Bancorp will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 27,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total transaction of $374,848.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 446,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,179,326.98. This trade represents a 5.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jinho Doo sold 10,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total transaction of $132,717.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,071.20. This represents a 33.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,985 shares of company stock valued at $674,450. Corporate insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HOPE. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 149.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 3,163 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $108,000. 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.