Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $10.98 and traded as high as $12.18. Hope Bancorp shares last traded at $12.14, with a volume of 806,815 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hope Bancorp Trading Up 0.3%

The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

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

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David P. Malone sold 20,820 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.50, for a total value of $239,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 66,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,567. The trade was a 23.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 31,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total value of $387,129.60. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 83,340 shares of company stock valued at $1,011,996. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HOPE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Hope Bancorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 269,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 3.5% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 36,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 6.9% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 20,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.