Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of 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 Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:HOPE opened at $13.45 on Monday. Hope Bancorp has a one year low of $8.15 and a one year high of $13.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 10.02%. The business had revenue of $116.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total value of $39,680.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,804.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jinho Doo sold 10,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 21,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,071.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total transaction of $39,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $321,804.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,831 shares of company stock valued at $323,657 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HOPE. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in Hope Bancorp by 117.5% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 158,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 85,709 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the first quarter worth $915,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 232.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,333,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,065,000 after buying an additional 1,632,384 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 17.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,000,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,488,000 after acquiring an additional 296,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 18.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 202,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,325,000 after acquiring an additional 32,056 shares during the period. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.