Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Short Interest Update

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, an increase of 13.2% from the October 31st total of 1,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 721,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Hope Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven Koh sold 96,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.33, for a total transaction of $1,287,944.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,167,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,216,416.59. This represents a 2.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 27,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total transaction of $374,848.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 446,806 shares in the company, 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 a total of 129,474 shares of company stock worth $1,739,618 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,163 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $108,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $112,000. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hope Bancorp Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Hope Bancorp stock opened at $13.70 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.98 and its 200 day moving average is $12.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 1.15. Hope Bancorp has a 1 year low of $9.80 and a 1 year high of $14.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

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.