Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Raised to “Buy” at Brean Capital

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Brean Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $14.50 price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Hope Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.75.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Hope Bancorp stock opened at $11.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Hope Bancorp has a 12-month low of $8.82 and a 12-month high of $12.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.14.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 31,020 shares of the firm’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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hope Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 375.1% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 61.0% during 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. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Hope Bancorp News

Here are the key news stories impacting Hope Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Plan to acquire SMBC Manubank’s U.S. commercial banking unit in Los Angeles — expands Bank of Hope’s commercial footprint and client relationships in a key market, which could drive deposit and loan growth if the deal closes and integrates smoothly. BizJournals: Bank of Hope to acquire SMBC Manubank’s commercial unit
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results highlighted as outperformers — HOPE reported $0.27 EPS (beat) and revenue of $145.8M (up ~23.6% YoY), demonstrating revenue momentum that supports the share of positive analyst commentary. MSN: Q4 Earnings Outperformers
• Positive Sentiment: Brean Capital upgraded HOPE from “neutral” to “buy,” signaling improving analyst sentiment that may attract momentum or long-only buyers. Finviz: Brean Capital upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted its rating from “strong sell” to “hold,” reducing a prior negative analyst stance and narrowing the gap for further upside should fundamentals continue to improve. Zacks.com: Rating change

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.