Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HOPE traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $13.44. 66,757 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 730,493. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.79. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96. Hope Bancorp has a 1-year low of $9.45 and a 1-year high of $14.53.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The business had revenue of $246.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hope Bancorp will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David P. Malone sold 10,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 109,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,397,985.61. This trade represents a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 27,104 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total value of $374,848.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 446,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,179,326.98. The trade was a 5.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,985 shares of company stock worth $674,450 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 202,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,325,000 after acquiring an additional 32,056 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in Hope Bancorp by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 105,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 11.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 189,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 20,015 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 8.6% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 7.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 23,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

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.