Daisy Ha Sells 25,533 Shares of Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Stock

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Director Daisy Ha sold 25,533 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.57, for a total transaction of $320,949.81. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,020 shares in the company, valued at $389,921.40. This trade represents a 45.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Hope Bancorp stock opened at $12.51 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20 and a beta of 0.87. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.82 and a fifty-two week high of $12.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.09% and a net margin of 5.81%.The company had revenue of $145.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. Hope Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is 121.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HOPE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $14.50 price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hope Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. CKW Financial Group purchased a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 294.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 61.0% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

About Hope Bancorp

Hope Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hope Bank, a California-chartered financial institution serving small and middle-market businesses, professionals and affluent individuals. The company’s principal activities include accepting a variety of deposit products—such as checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and time deposits—and extending commercial credit facilities. With a focus on community banking, Hope Bancorp tailors its offerings to meet the needs of clients in diverse industries, including real estate, professional services and import/export trade.

In its lending business, Hope Bancorp provides commercial real estate loans, construction financing, working capital lines of credit and equipment financing.